Always
by hpjkrowling4ever
Summary: DM/HP, Veela!fic. Every wizard comes into an inheritance when they reach their maturity. For some, it's more exciting than others, and Draco Malfoy knows this firsthand. He just wishes it would only be exciting and not complicated, but he also knows that he might just relish this complicated - for once.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: __This is a Harry/Draco Veela!fic, and though I know that this is a slightly controversial pairing, I do enjoy writing it, as you can already see from my fic __Revenge *shamelessly advertising myself here*__. _

_**PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING:**_

_\- This is not an established relationship, it is a developing one. _

_\- This is also an __**AU**__ fic in the aspect that __**there are no Horcruxes**__ except for **two**: Harry and the diary__. I do hope that this does not put you off in any shape or form. _

_\- I am also sorry if anything in this fic resembles any others, sadly there are so many Veela fics out there that some aspects are just too obvious to ignore. _

_\- Dumbledore **is not dead**, and this deviates strongly from **HBP**, so apologies, Sirius is dead again. _

_\- They are in their **seventh year**, i.e. their **NEWT year**. This is because inheritances commonly occur towards the end of the sixth year when they turn seventeen. _

_There are also other changes, that, if I run across them, I will notify you of them. _

_Warning: male/male relationship, creature fic (naturally the one most Harry Potter fanfic writers do –Veela!), mentions of Dursley past, though nothing graphic._

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter One

Rustling through the merry bed of gorgeous daffodils the wind blew, cradling them gently in her calming arms, before moving on towards the peonies, kissing them gently and moving on again. Diving into the jumping brook running along the garden hedge, the wind sent up some spray which caught the light, sending a myriad of colours sparkling onto the fresh grass, but soon she was gone again, this time climbing up the ancient walls of the house with the hydrangea, twining herself like a lover ever so gently among them, caressing them before she flew in through the window and entered the large bedroom, its occupant sleeping peacefully on the bed.

She stroked him softly, before rustling through his sheets, pecking him on the lips, wishing him good luck before she was gone again through the window, flying towards the risen sun, having said good day to the newly turned person on the bed.

The young man on the bed was covered with a thin layer of glistening sweat, and his long hair lay splayed around his head, looking new and fresh like the sunrise, filled with promise. His head was turned slightly to the side, and he was breathing heavily, his well-defined cheekbones rising and falling with the rhythm his lungs chose to conduct. His chest was covered in a thin sprinkling of pale hairs, and his muscles were clearly defined, having lost their childish fat. The thin silk sheets covered the rest of him, but he was clearly tall for his age. Suddenly, he moved, his head and hair moving with him, and his mouth opening in a barely perceptible whimper. His door opened gently, and a woman put her head around, sighed, and closed the door again. But she was not gone –instead, she came back with a man holding some phials in his hand.

Slowly, carefully they made their way towards the young man on the bed, the woman's finely tailored robes rustling carefully on the richly carpeted floor. They paused when he moved again, his whimpers becoming more pronounced, but soon they relaxed, the woman taking off her expensive shoes and gliding onto the bed, quietly shaking the young man awake. He groaned, and suddenly shot up, his eyes wide and blank, before he shook his head violently, clearing them.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice no longer unbroken but strong and rich despite being rough from sleep. "I feel terrible."

"Your inheritance, my son." The man said, sitting next to his wife, their shoulders touching. He handed some of the phials over to the young man, who drank them thankfully, shuddering at their taste but sighing at the relief they brought to him. "You finally reached your maturity."

He chuckled at his son's stricken expression and saw his wife smile as his boy –though no longer a boy– started feeling his hair, his face, before looking down and blushing faintly when he saw his state of undress.

"Where have my pyjamas gone, Father?" he asked, trying not to sound embarrassed.

"Your magic most likely took them away. You had quite a strong reaction to your inheritance." His father looked concerned, and the young man picked up on the concern.

"Did everything happen as expected?"

"Yes, my son, and more." His mother said, rubbing his arm lightly. He shivered and noticed that his window was open.

"I don't remember opening my window."

"The wind did, my son. We came in after we were sure you were finished with gaining your powers."

"So I am a Veela?" he asked nervously. He felt different, but he couldn't quite pick up on _what_ was different.

"Definitely, Draco. And you were never going to be anything else." Narcissa Malfoy smiled at her son and held Lucius Malfoy's hand tightly.

"Did you feel anything concerning your mate?" Lucius asked quietly. "Anything at all?"

As he said that, Draco remembered the feeling of emptiness he had felt halfway through his transformation, and in a burst of light, large white wings burst from his back, almost knocking Narcissa off his bed. They moved of their own accord, dictated by Draco's thoughts, and wrapped tightly around him as he whimpered, feeling that emptiness now.

"I think he did, Lucius," Narcissa said wryly, moving to stroke her son's hair, her long sleeves just brushing her son's wings. Draco whirled around, hissing softly, baring his teeth, his canines seeming to elongate and get sharper. Looking confused, he started apologising but Lucius put up his hand to stop him.

"We understand, son, and your mother did not mean to touch them."

"Why did I have that reaction, Father? Is there something wrong with them?" Draco asked, running his hand along the long appendages, shivering when he felt them, but not feeling what he had when his mother had touched them.

"What did you feel? Tell us, and you might work out what happened." Lucius said softly, taking his son's hand and rubbing it comfortingly. He understood how disturbing the transformation could be.

"Like…almost like Mother was…" Draco looked ashamed of himself. "Like she was touching something intimate and private she should never have touched. Sorry," he said again to his mother, who smiled at him reassuringly.

"Your wings are extremely private and meant solely for your mate to touch and see and do anything with. They are meant to defend your mate –if you perceive that any threat has been made towards him, your wings would react accordingly and harden into scales, but if it is just you and he or she, they will be soft feathers. It is a sacrilege to touch another Veela's wings."

"Why did I show them to you, then?" Draco asked, feeling suddenly as if they were exposed, and then feeling as if he had broken a trust he had not yet gained. He whimpered again, and his wings wrapped around him once more.

"Because we mentioned your mate, and they unconsciously came out because you needed them. You are newly turned, my son, they are instinctive, which is why we took you out of school for your birthday, can you imagine what you would be feeling if they saw your wings?"

Draco started shivering and his wings wrapped even tighter around him. Shaking his head, he tried to move them away from himself and found them batting the air gently behind him as they moved out to frame him angelically.

"Try to take them back in, Draco. Normally, you should start feeling uncomfortable with them out in front of us, not yet knowing whom your mate is and all that." Narcissa said delicately, longing to hug her son but unable to due to his wings.

"Just think about them going back into your back, and they should fold naturally," Lucius advised.

Draco did as his father instructed, and felt the unusual sensation of them folding in on themselves and into his back. However, now he could feel them inside of him and he longed to spread them out again, but then the thought of his mate came back.

"I felt them last night when I was going through the change," Draco said hesitantly, coming closer to his mother, who held him tightly and kissed his head. "They were unhappy and sad, but Merlin, they were powerful!"

Lucius nodded. It made sense why his son's wings should be longer than his father's and his magical reserve should be so strong –Lucius and Narcissa had felt the power of his transformation and realised that Draco's magic had increased to match his mate's.

"How powerful?"

"Not overly powerful, Father. I mean, not enough to use wandless magic unconsciously but enough to be able to use it with a lot of practice. I'm not explaining properly!" Draco sighed. "They were strong and capable of defending themselves, but also quite vulnerable. I felt their vulnerability and I felt that they were fiercely independent and that they had had no choice but to be." Draco lowered his head and spoke incredibly quietly, so much so that his parents had to lean closer to hear him. "I wanted to help them."

Lucius reared back. It was the first time that Draco had ever admitted to wanting to help someone else at no cost, and he knew that this mate of Draco's had to be some individual to be able to make his son think of something else other than himself.

"Did you feel if they were female…or male?" Lucius asked hesitantly. Their son's sexuality had long been a question for Lucius and Narcissa, Draco never being obviously heterosexual or obviously homosexual. A Veela chose their mate based on their personality and whom they felt would love them the most and whom they felt that they could love the most, and it was never based on what gender they were.

Draco lowered his head again and felt shame flood his entire being, but then he felt anger at feeling shame about his mate.

"Male." He whispered, waiting for his parents to throw him out or disown him. Surprisingly, his mother tightened her grip on him and his father stroked his hair gently.

"We don't judge your mate's gender, darling," Narcissa said. "We only judge whether they love you or not."

"I'm so confused, though," Draco continued, feeling bone-melting relief at his parents' support. "Do I love him?"

"One thing the Veela gene does, Draco, is to allow you to love that person unconditionally and with all your heart and with all your mind," Lucius said.

"It's all-encompassing." Draco murmured. "I feel like anything I want completely pales compares to what he wants. I want to do anything for him. It's so strong."

"Your inheritance never chooses someone you haven't met or someone you didn't know. You obviously knew this person beforehand, and had strong feelings regarding them." Lucius mused, thinking deeply as to who his son's mate could be.

"I never had any feelings for anyone before my inheritance," Draco admitted.

"That's the Veela gene. Whereas your mother had had numerous boyfriends before me, I had no inclination towards anyone until I saw her again." Lucius looked tenderly at his wife, who kissed his hand before turning back to their son. "The need lessens after the bond has been accepted and then completed, but it never goes."

"I know that." Draco suddenly looked nervous again and pulled the sheets around him, keeping a strong hold on his wings to make sure that they didn't come out. No one, except for him, would see them until he'd found his mate. "But what happens if I don't find him?"

"That's easily answered. You do. Your Veela scents them out. His smell will be the most alluring one you've ever smelt, and will never cease to be that way. If you don't find him after a long period of time, well…your Veela goes mad trying to and will never cease looking."

"How long?" Draco asked.

"At least six months before you start feeling anything vaguely resembling madness, but the longer you leave yourself without your mate before those six months are up, the stronger your feeling of emptiness gets."

"I feel a bit empty already." He admitted, pulling out of his mother's embrace. "I also feel a bit unsure about hugging or touching anyone."

"Side effect of your new body, my son." Lucius smiled. "You're a bit unsure about it –that's only to be expected."

"It seems I have a lot to get used to." Draco murmured.

* * *

Draco soon realised that growing more than three inches overnight had posed a problem regarding his clothes. Raising an eyebrow, he dried himself from his shower, pulled on a bathrobe and called his mother back to his room and asked her about clothes.

"That's easily fixed," Narcissa said, smiling at how distraught her son looked. "When your father first came into his inheritance, he wouldn't stop growing. He grew almost an inch every night after his inheritance, and for a seventeen-year-old male than posed some problems, especially since he was hell-bent on impressing his mate. Therefore, he asked his father to consult a spell maker and the man made a spell which allowed tailor-made clothes like yours and your father's to grow with them."

"What's the spell?" Draco asked, wrapping his bathrobe tighter around himself to hide his modesty.

"_Crescere vestibus_," Narcissa said, waving her wand elegantly over Draco's wardrobe. "I shall see you at breakfast, Draco. Do not be too late."

As soon as his mother was gone, Draco let his robe fall to the ground and his wings extend. They were long, very long, both of them were probably a bit taller than him, and he knew that they would grow as he grew. Touching them, he felt a shiver of longing pass through him, and he let out of soft keen that was most definitely not human. Recognising a call for his mate through his knowledge of Veela, Draco allowed his wings to wrap around him and longed to have a mate to wrap them in.

However, he knew that he could not let depression hold onto him. He would have his mate, he was a Malfoy after all, and Malfoys got what they wanted in the end. He retracted his wings and pulled on one of his favourite silver robes with emerald green snakes on the sleeves and watched it grow to fit him. Smiling widely, he looked at himself in the mirror, his perfectly brushed hair tied up in a neat ponytail, his new muscular body shown off by his newly fitting robes and his cheekbones standing out in the light. He felt like a new person and put his wand into its holster built into the sleeves.

As he walked through the Manor, he saw the portraits nod and bow at him, recognising now as one who was of age, legally and magically, and therefore as the legitimate Malfoy heir. He walked down the richly decorated stairs and entered the dining room, where his parents were both sitting; discussing whatever was in the _Daily Prophet_ that morning. He joined them, sitting gracefully down in his chair, and wondered what else his inheritance would bring him.

* * *

Time flew, and it seemed to pass especially fast that summer, as Draco discovered astonishing increases in his magical strength and found himself growing to almost six foot four in height before he seemed to stop, completely taking over most of his year mates. The announcement that he was Head Boy had completely thrown him off his feet as well, knowing the old man who ruled the school wished to trust him enough with such a position of responsibility.

It was about three weeks before the start of term, and Draco was feeling the absence of his mate every day before the start of term. He felt nervous but he also felt a deep sense of longing and often found it difficult to go to sleep at night, his longing for his mate was so overpowering. He had taken to sleeping wrapped in his wings, and after he had almost attacked his mother for seeing them, he had forbidden anyone from entering his room without his express permission.

He had decided to tell his closest friends what had happened to him over the summer. His nerves were through the roof by the time all his friends –Blaise Zabini, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Pansy Parkinson– had made it to the Manor.

"Right, Draco, you better hurry up and tell us what's up, because I'm not sitting down here in this silence for a moment longer." Said the ever-frank Parkinson girl. She knew that she was not particularly pretty, with her curly black hair and unusual, very pale, blue eyes, and she hid her uncertainty about her beauty under a sharp tongue. She had therefore been very surprised when the Malfoy Heir had offered the hand of friendship to her. Draco had seen the power behind her tongue, and she was incredibly useful in seeing the trustworthiness in anyone and knowing all the gossip.

Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle prided themselves on being the Leader of Slytherin's personal guards. They took Draco's safety very seriously, and would most certainly injure themselves severely before letting any harm come to him. Their little group were the rulers of Slytherin after the previous Leader had left the House, and they knew that they were feared for their undying loyalty to the young Malfoy Heir.

Blaise Zabini was the mysterious part-Italian, part-French Slytherin spy. He was incredible at getting behind anyone's defenses and charmingly worming his way into their deepest secrets. As such, not many people trusted or liked him, but Malfoy and his other friends trusted him implicitly, and thus he trusted them back. Over time, it had developed into a loyal friendship, and Blaise knew that he would fight hard for his friends.

Draco knew all this when he looked at them and decided to take the plunge. They would either be calm, welcoming waters or a murky sea of chaos and tangled weeds.

"I came into my inheritance in June." He started.

"Ah! I knew it!" Pansy said, jumping from her seat and pointing at him. She coughed slightly and sat back down when Blaise glared in exasperation at her. "That's why you left early!"

"Indeed," Draco said, smiling at his friend. "It was quite necessary to do so, I assure you. It would have been detrimental to you all if I had remained."

"What inheritance did you come into?" Blaise asked, having already come into his inheritance earlier on in the year. "I can see you've changed -and for the better at that." He said, ever the one to notice a change in appearance. Of them all, he had been the one with the most obvious sexuality – he loved flaunting the fact he was homosexual and making the most conservative Slytherins uncomfortable around him.

"I am a Veela." He announced and watched carefully for their reactions. Blaise raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow in surprise, Pansy frowned, and Crabbe and Goyle grunted.

"Doesn't affect us so long as you keep being you," Crabbe said frankly, speaking for Goyle as well. Their minds often ran along the same lines.

"I guess you haven't found your mate yet?" Pansy asked, looking closely at her friend.

"No," Draco said shortly, unwilling to discuss his mate any further than was completely necessary.

"I knew it!" Blaise jumped up and waved his black silk scarf above his head triumphantly in an uncharacteristic display of emotion. "I am no longer the only one!"

"Huh?" Goyle asked, but Pansy caught on quickly.

"It's a boy!" she gasped.

"Does that mean Draco's gay?" Crabbe asked, scratching his head. This was too much. "You love a boy and you dunno who he is?"

"Exactly, Crabbe," Draco said. "Just stick to that conclusion for the moment."

Blaise sat back down, smiling widely in an even more unusual display of his feelings.

"According to the books we covered in fifth year about Veela, you've got until December until you start going mad for your mate."

Draco snorted.

"I'm already going crazy for him. But it's quite bearable." He paused as a thought struck him. "Hang on, how did you know that when I didn't?"

"I listened, you idiot. You thought you knew everything, having been brought up with the knowledge you could become one." Blaise said, chuckling. "But I suppose this year'll be more interesting than the last, what with Potter and his friends being quite uninteresting in their sixth year."

Pansy sighed in exasperation and turned back to Draco.

"Just so you know, if you dare hide anything from us we'll kill you. Got that?" she asked, smiling widely. "Good." She said, when Draco nodded, knowing better than to argue with his friend.

He could not wait until term started.

* * *

_A/N: Right, so here it is. No regular updates, though I will try to update as much as possible. __This fic will not be abandoned by any stretch of the imagination, just so that you know that._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you guys so much for your reviews and your favs/follows. They mean a lot to me. This fic will vary between Draco's POV, most of the time, Harry's POV some of the time, and other people's POV occasionally._

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Two

Taking a deep breath, Draco walked sedately through the wall separating the Muggle world from the Wizarding one. He inhaled as he entered Platform 9¾, trying to find the one scent that would make his soul sing, but immediately started coughing at the strong smell of steam and coal emanating from the Hogwarts Express, which sat placidly on the tracks, swallowing up child after child to bring to the school. Draco turned to wait for his parents, watching as some of the crowd parted to let the infamous Malfoys through, some of them looking curiously at him having the occasional hacking cough. Their faces were stone cold and their eyes as sharp as flint, but Draco could see his mother's concern and his father's quiet support through their masks. He himself had withdrawn away from his holiday ways and more into his school ways.

"Are you ready?" Narcissa asked, brushing his hair back as she reached him. "You can always owl us if there are _any_ problems, do you understand?"

"I will come over at once if I hear of any disturbance, Draco. You know what you have to do this term." Lucius said softly, pulling his small family deep into the steam so that no one could see them.

"I know." Draco murmured. "It will be my _only_ focus this term, don't you worry about that. If all goes well, I will be bringing him home for Christmas."

"The Dark Lord will be wanting to see you, Draco." Lucius warned seriously, erecting a Privacy Ward around them. "He will want you to take his Mark."

"I will _not_ take it until I know where my mate's allegiances lie." Draco hissed, unconsciously saying what he truly felt. Looking surprised, he took a step back. "I did not mean to be rude, I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from."

"Your Veela." Lucius said. "I became a Death Eater because my mate's family's allegiances were Dark and I felt that the only way I could win her support was through becoming a Death Eater. Unfortunately, your mother did not like the Dark Lord's cause, but was forced to it by her parents."

"It took your father a long time before he could forgive himself." Narcissa said. "Your Veela will feel threatened by any attempt to mark you with someone else's insignia."

"Then how was Father able to be marked by the Dark Lord?" Draco asked, curious to know why he felt such revulsion at being marked as one of the Dark Lord's followers, whereas previously he had only felt anticipation.

"By sheer force of will. If I so wish it, the ancient Veela magic would destroy the mark. It would, however, take a lot of time and energy as well as me looking up some complex Veela rituals in the library." Lucius said, not entirely dissatisfied with his lot in life, and unwilling to make and public move against the Dark Lord until he was certain it was the correct time to do so.

"What happens if my mate is not a supporter of the Dark Lord?" Draco asked hesitantly.

"Personally, I will be right behind him." Narcissa said frankly. "The Dark Lord made my sister become insane." Narcissa said bitterly. "She worships the very ground the Dark Lord walks on and would most likely lick his feet if she had the chance to."

Lucius sighed, and instead of answering, kissed his son's forehead gently.

"We shall see what we shall see." He pulled back and straightened Draco's green and silver tie. "Do not be foolish, my son. You have bigger priorities than to be chasing after Potter and his blood traitor and Mudblood friend, remember that. It does not matter that _she_ is Head Girl, Draco, you are Head Boy and I hope that you will act your rank. It is your NEWT year as well as being your last year and you have a school to help, a House to run and a successor to choose, do you not?" he smiled widely. "And a mate to find."

Draco hugged his father tightly in an uncharacteristic display of affection and emotion. He had recently been refusing most forms of affection apart of a small kiss or fixing up his hair or clothes because he had felt uncomfortable and unsure about anyone else touching him. Draco then hugged his mother, who kissed him again.

"Before you go, son." Lucius said, seeming to make a spur-of-the-moment decision. "I will support you _whoever _your mate will be. They will have the full backing, financially and otherwise, of the Malfoy line and family. We love you too much to lose you, Draco."

Draco turned away in a swirl of his robes, and headed into the train and towards Slytherin territory. The train was divided into various compartments: the teachers and the permanent train staff, the rest of the school, the first years and the Slytherins. As his house was the one who respected the hierarchy the most, it was the one which had the entire compartment of the train to itself. Immersing himself deeper towards Slytherin territory, Draco looked at the sixth-year compartments in the Slytherin carriages, trying to find a worthy successor for Slytherin House.

He reached his special compartment, where his friends were already seated and deep in discussion. When he entered, they all stood up and bowed their head politely in his direction, as was Slytherin protocol in these situations. Waving at them to sit down, he followed his own orders and collapsed onto the seats.

"Where's your trunk?" Crabbe asked.

"Should be coming, I asked my father to take care of it for me." Draco said carelessly. "Any ideas for a good successor?"

"Michael O'Riordan and Richard Durocher did extremely well in their OWLs. I think that Michael didn't get below Exceeds Expectations and Richard definitely did not." Pansy said. "If you're looking at girls, Richard has a good friend, Helena Wormwood, who is an excellent gossip."

"Right." Draco said, leaning back and seeing that Pansy was looking to Richard for Slytherin's successor. "Blaise, what do you think of his personality?"

"He's quite ruthless with his enemies, but he seems quite approachable otherwise. He's definitely honest and has a good sense of what is right and wrong." Blaise sighed. "And he's so good-looking. He's rather fickle in his relationships, but very loyal to his friends. Bad luck for his girlfriends."

"What side does he support in the war?" Draco asked, expecting either Pansy or Blaise to answer but not expecting Goyle to do so.

"No allegiance." He grunted, looking at the door to see if anyone was going past. The train doors had just closed and they would soon be moving –he did not want anyone to overhear Draco's conversation. "Father doesn't like him 'cos his father don't support no one."

"That could be interesting for Slytherin's future." Draco murmured. "What are his views on Harry Potter and Dumbledore?"

"Thinks Potter's got some stuff in his brain but needs a bit more reasoning. However, he thinks that Dumbledore has too many secrets up his sleeve and needs to let some of them go." Pansy said, smiling widely at her knowledge. "I caught up with Lady Wormwood's family over summer, and talked extensively with their daughter."

"Dumbledore's control issue is a result of too much built-up sexual frustration," Blaise said, smiling wickedly, and looking slyly at Draco, "I can identify with him, but I guess you could probably do so better."

"Don't be impertinent!" Draco hissed, knowing that Blaise had hit on his sore point that he had never had any sort of sexual relation with anyone, and would only do so with his mate. "I will know what to do, unlike you."

Pansy raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"I think that I seem to know something none of you do." Draco smirked. He loved knowing something his friends didn't. "The school obviously didn't teach it because they felt that it was too much, but as you know, Veela are creatures of love and passion. They long for their other half to complete and fill them and make them whole." Draco paused, and closed his eyes, projecting, through skilled Occlumency Professor Snape had taught him, some of his memories into his friends' minds.

"_But why?" Draco asked petulantly, looking angrily at his parents. He could not be more than eleven. "Why do I have to be a Veela?"  
_

"_Do not be a spoilt brat, Draco Abraxas Malfoy!" Lucius thundered. This point had obviously been long disputed and discussed. "You are luckier than most."_

"_Then explain what is so lucky about feeling too guilty to have any sort of sexual relationship with anyone." Draco crossed his arms and looked at his father with hooded eyes._

"_Veela are extremely passionate creatures. The myth goes that the goddess Aphrodite wished to create humans who could __properly__ love and cherish their partners. She thought that she had seen too much abuse and separating and putting down of partners and she wished to create something more lasting, more precious. Therefore, she made a stunning young lady and a gorgeous young man, both of them with impressively long wings. She called them Veela, and gave the gene to select families, those she felt truly deserved the gene, and told them what being a Veela entailed." Lucius paused to see that his son had lowered his arms._

"_So the Malfoys were deserving?" Draco asked. He loved hearing how the Malfoys were superior in every way to everyone else._

"_Most definitely." Lucius smirked at the pride on his son's face. "Aphrodite made the Veela so that their full abilities only came about at their maturity, which was the legal age to be an adult in the country of their birth, in this case seventeen in Wizarding Britain."_

"_Were Veelas only for wizards?" Draco asked sensibly._

"_Naturally. Aphrodite was a goddess –she would not gift something to mere Muggles. That was her view, anyway." Lucius sat down next to Draco on the sofa and took his hand. "Aphrodite couldn't make the Veela perfect, however. She decided that they would be jealous creatures, too conscious of their beauty and their strength, but gave them something that could seem like a curse."_

"_What was it?" Draco asked, hooked on his father's story._

"_Aphrodite made the Veelas one person who they could love, adore, cherish and protect. This person would fill them and make them feel whole, and in return love the Veela for the jealous, passionate and vain creatures they were. A Veela's love is never contested –their love for their mate destroys all boundaries known to mankind. Nothing stands in the way of their love, and they will do anything for their mate. Such is their weakness, that in essence, they love their mate so much. Aphrodite, however, decided that life would not give the Veelas this person until they reached their maturity. The Veela would have met this person, and would most definitely have talked to this person, without ever realising who they were."_

"_You mean that a Veela could hate their mate before, but love them afterwards?" Draco asked, confused._

"_Indeed." Lucius sighed. "It's indeed a curse for us. We have to work for our mate's love, and have a time limit to it as well. Our feelings for our mate are pure and true, but they may not see this until it has been proven to them."_

"_Then why did she give them this curse?" Draco asked furiously, not liking the sound of this battle he might have to face._

"_Because she couldn't make life too easy for them, my son." Lucius ruffled his son's hair. "When you go to Hogwarts in a few weeks time, remember to be careful with everyone. One of those people could be your future mate."_

"_Will I have wings?" Draco asked suddenly, completely changing the subject._

"_Of course. The longer the wings, the more powerful you are, and by extension, the more powerful your mate is." He sighed. "Veela adore their mates and they wish to show this in the most impressive way possible. You will see that one of the most treasured feelings you will get later on is when you wrap your mate in your wings. Never forget that your mate is the most precious thing to you."_

"_I won't, father." A thought struck the young boy. "How will I show my mate the love I feel? Will I be able to have any other relationships to practice for them?"_

"_No!" Lucius almost shouted. "No," he said in a quieter tone. "It is almost sacrilege to go out with someone who isn't your mate. Remember that your love is for your mate alone, and no one else can experience that. Your mate may have kissed or even had sex with someone before you, and that will make your Veela furious, but you will never. Since the goddess of love created us, we will instinctively know how to give our mates the experience of their lives, and to continue to do so. We long to prove to them that we are the right person, and to shove from their minds any prior experience."_

"_Right." Draco nodded._

Blaise chuckled when Draco had withdrawn from their minds. Crabbe and Goyle were looking a bit dumbfounded, and Pansy was sharing Blaise's hilarity.

"So this means you'll be able to _perform_ when the time comes?"

"Yes, instinctively so." Draco leant back comfortably. "Tell me more about this successor we're thinking about."

* * *

It was when Draco went to the toilet, halfway through the journey, that he first smelt the most alluring smell he had ever had the fortune to smell. It smelt of the fresh wood in the Malfoy forest, of the vanilla in the cakes the house-elves made, of the magnolia, the jasmine, the rose and the lilies his mother grew in her garden. The smell smelt of home, of love and of something and someone he could trust with all of his heart and his secrets, and Draco yearned to find this person.

His whole being trembled uncontrollably with the sheer need to embrace the person, and without realising, his Veela started emitting soft, calming pheromones to match what he felt his mate was feeling, and at this point in time it was uncertainty and sadness. He longed to let out his wings and started moving forwards stealthily, just so that he could smell the sweet fragrance of his beloved again.

However, he was suddenly dragged away from the smell by strong arms, and he started fighting against his captors furiously. Snarling and hissing, he thrashed and squirmed, fighting with his rational mind to let out all of his attributes and go after his mate to love and cherish him and make him feel happy and joyous once again.

A door banged behind him and he found himself sitting back down in his compartment and his logical mind coming back to fore.

"What happened?" he asked, shaking himself, but still not quite getting rid of that heart-stopping scent. It still made his soul sing and he fought with himself to stay in the Slytherin compartment.

"You were gone too long to be sensible, Draco." Pansy said. "We worked out that something must have happened and sent Crabbe and Goyle to find you."

Ever thinking about his reputation, Draco asked, "Was I seen?"

"Nope. Cast a Concealment Charm on you." Goyle said happily, glad that he had helped in some way.

"Thank you."

"What happened?" Blaise asked, sitting back down.

"Draco looked like he was in goddamn heaven. He looked eu-eu-euphoric, that's it!" Crabbe said happily. "What happened?"

"I smelt him." Draco murmured reverently. "He smelt absolutely incredible." He looked seriously at his friends. "I have to smell him again. I _want_ to smell him again."

* * *

_A/N: I'm quite happy with this chapter. Thank you so much for any review, I will try and reply personally to it as soon as possible._


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Three

Sliding into the top few benches of the Gryffindor Table, Harry glared morosely at the table, not noticing the anxious looks Ron and Hermione were shooting him. It had been enough that his OWL results weren't the best, but added on to the fact that his relatives had been especially cruel this summer, and that his most recent discovery had thrown his world into chaos, Harry felt that there was no use for him to be happy. Who would want to enjoy it? Ron and Hermione were together, so wrapped up in each other that they only had passing moments for him. He had no other _real_ friends in his year. Neville was great, but he was hanging out with Dean and Seamus, who were much too exuberant for his taste.

Glancing up at the Head Table, Harry saw Professor Snape watching the doors with a fixed expression on his face. It wasn't a sneer, or a glare, but something else alien to the angry professor's face. If Harry wasn't so sure that the Potions Master couldn't feel any other emotion other than hate, he would have said it was worry. Snorting, Harry turned to follow Snape's line of focus to see Malfoy walk into the Great Hall. That was enough to bring Harry out of his apathy as he made a strangled sound of shock. Ron and Hermione, who had been silently observing him, whirled around and Ron made the same sound as he caught sight of Malfoy.

The leader of Slytherin House was flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, as per usual, and followed by his loyal followers Zabini and Parkinson. However, that was not what had shocked Harry and his friends, and subsequently the whole of Gryffindor who had seen the look of utter shock on the faces of the Trio. The reason for Malfoy being taken out of Hogwarts early for his summer holidays now became apparent.

He was a knockout. He had obviously grown drastically, and his stature oozed power and self-confidence. His grey eyes snapped here and there, taking in everyone looking at him, and he smirked, showing rows of perfectly arranged teeth. His hair had a slight sheen to it –_Probably his new hair gel_, Harry thought sarcastically, but looked for more improvements on his nemesis. He had lost his baby fat, and his cheekbones were very well placed, accentuating his aristocratic face. His body had become more muscular while still retaining its lean shape, perfect for Quidditch. As he approached the Slytherin table, they all stood up as one and bowed their head to him, as they had done every year for the Slytherin leader.

Harry watched as he moved with an easy grace to a young boy in the year below, tapping him on the shoulder, silently asking him to follow him. The boy, with a wide smile on his face, left his friends and moved to sit across from Malfoy, flanked by Zabini and Parkinson. Soon, the rest of the table sat down, and the school started buzzing.

"What the hell happened to him?" Ron asked, looking in astonishment as the almost ethereal looks of Malfoy. He snorted when he saw the boy Malfoy had chosen. "And that's probably the new leader of Slytherin. In training, of course."

"He came into his inheritance, most likely," Hermione said knowingly. "I wonder what he is."

"What do you mean, what he is?" Harry asked curiously, despite himself.

"Well, there's no way in hell Malfoy can be human. Not with that many changes about him. Harry, you came into your inheritance, didn't you, this summer?"

"Yeah," Harry dragged out the word, unsure where Hermione was going.

"Your magical reserves obviously increased and you've grown a bit."

"Five foot seven." Harry said, smiling. "Finally on average."

"Malfoy's grown too much for it to be natural. He's gained muscle as well, which you haven't, Harry. His hair, it's slightly ethereal and it's not hair gel."

"How would _you _know?" Ron asked Hermione, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, I'm sorry, I'm not about to believe that you know anything about hair gel."

"I'm in a dorm with _Lavender_, for Pete's sake, Ronald. Don't be stupid." Hermione rolled her eyes in a long-practiced ritual. "She knows _everything_ there is to know about hair gel."

"Oh." Ron nodded. "Right."

Harry couldn't help but smile at his friends. It felt incredible to be back with them and their well-known phrases and mannerisms. However, at the back of his mind was the deep fear that he wasn't good enough, that something was wrong with him and that the love they had found with each other would never be found in him. He felt that he had been hated for so long there was no place for love. Pushing the thoughts away, Harry turned to watch the First Years shuffle in, lead in by Professor McGonagall. Hermione leant forwards, pulling Ron with her. Harry leant in, knowing instinctively that whatever Hermione had to say to Ron, she would also be telling him.

"I think that Professor McGonagall should let the Head Girl bring the first years in."

"You're biased, 'Mione." Ron said comfortably, leaning back in his seat. "You're Head Girl."

Harry remembered the owl which had flown through his window at top speed, crashing into the rickety desk in his room and chirping loudly. He remembered the blind panic of hushing the owl and then the wide smile on his face at the news that Hermione, predictably, had landed the much-coveted position of Head Girl. The Head Girl and Head Boy ruled the school, pretty much, with Dumbledore and Harry was insanely proud of his friend. Unfortunately, the news that Malfoy was Head Boy had made him quite annoyed. What was Dumbledore doing, trusting the snake?

Conversation in the Hall died as the hat was brought to the middle of the platform housing the Head Table, and faces turned expectantly to listen to the song the Hat would sing.

"Many a year ago it seems,  
The duty fell to me,  
To sing my song and bring the news,  
Of where students ought to be.  
Chosen by the founders four,  
To help young students find their way,  
When, confused, they stumble in,  
On their first Hogwarts day.  
Four houses to choose from,  
Not one less or more,  
Each one by a different founder,  
To fill with students they adore.

Gryffindor, loving bravery,  
Chose the strong of heart,  
While Slytherin, feeling differently,  
Thought cunning the greatest art.  
Ravenclaw claimed for her own house,  
The brainy and the smart,  
While Hufflepuff took to her dear house,  
The just and kind of heart.

All these students, with their differences,  
Are each key to this great school.  
And if Hogwarts hopes to stand,  
Unity's the greatest tool.  
House to house and hand to hand,  
Leaving differences behind.  
Only when you work together,  
Can your strengths all be combined.

Now at last, the time has come,  
For me to send you separate ways.  
But remember, our division  
Could bring the end of Hogwarts' days."

Professor McGonagall looked vaguely alarmed at the song of the Hat, but dutifully started calling out the names of the First Years. Harry turned back to Ron and Hermione.

"It's warning us again about coming together. It means that Voldemort's gaining in power." Harry sighed. "Why does the Hat always manage to ruin my dinner?"

Ron snorted in agreement.

* * *

The days after the Feast passed much in the same fashion, and Harry was aware that something had to go wrong soon. Nothing had ever been this peaceful or this calm for a very long time, and it would either be Voldemort killing someone in power, or Malfoy doing something ridiculous.

Leaning back against the library chair, Harry glanced at Ron whose tongue was stuck out as he attacked his DADA essay. Harry had finished it easily, writing well beyond the two rolls of parchment marker, he had had so much to say about the use of the Unforgivables. Checking his watch, the new one Mrs. Weasley had gifted him for his seventeenth birthday, he noticed that Hermione was late back from her first Head Girl meeting with Dumbledore and Malfoy.

Sighing, he got out of his chair and went around to the Care of Magical Creatures section of the library. Ever since Hermione had told him and Ron at the Welcoming Feast that Malfoy couldn't possibly be human, Harry had become obsessed with finding out what Malfoy was. He had no idea where the obsession had come from, just that he had to find it out. He ran his hands gently over the spines of the old books and wondered how many other people had come here, seeking reassurance that their inheritance wasn't bad in any way. He chuckled, thanking whoever was out there that he hadn't become a creature.

"What on earth are you looking for?" Whispered a voice behind him, and he jumped around to be faced with Luna. The dreamy girl looked quite down-to-earth for once, and Harry felt slightly nervous.

"Wondering what inheritance Malfoy's gotten." Harry replied, seeing no need to hide his research.

"Why would that interest you? Unless it affects you, I see no need to look it up."

"The problem is that it does." Harry sighed once again, realising that he was sighing a lot. "He hasn't been antagonising Ron, Hermione or me for quite a while and it's quite worrying, to be honest. I feel like he's planning something and I need to know if it's got anything to do with his inheritance."

Luna sat down on the windowsill, gesturing for him to sit next to her. Anxious, Harry looked at her with a raised eyebrow before joining her.

"What's up, Luna?" he asked, looking at the girl who had become one of his closest friends, her unwavering loyalty towards him and his friends always touching him to the bottom of his heart.

"What do you think of love, Harry?" Luna asked. "I think of my friends, and then I know that I would happily love any of them if I was friends with them."

"Love is a difficult concept to grasp, Luna." Harry replied cautiously. Luna chuckled and tapped a rhythm on the windowsill.

"Everyone dances to their own tune, Harry. You always have, and that's what makes you so unique. Just because the love you feel for people manifests itself differently doesn't mean that it's wrong." Luna smiled at him and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Harry felt a reluctant smile of admiration creep out from him. Luna had cut to the core of the problem without injuring him in any way. He _was_ scared of what his friends would think, especially his dorm mates. The obvious prejudice that ran rampant in the Muggle world because of homosexuality had seeped into the Wizarding society a bit, and it made Harry wonder if he would lose Ron or Hermione's friendship because of his orientation.

"How did you know?" Harry asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, that answers my question." She raised an eyebrow at him. "It's obvious, Harry, to anyone who looks close enough, and trust me I have."

"How did you work it out?" he asked. The Dursleys had hated homosexuals so much that Harry had learnt, along with learning how to be invisible, to hide _anything_, even if it did not even apply to homosexuals, that could remotely be associated with his sexual orientation.

"Ginny wanted to become your closer than friends type of friend." Luna said in her roundabout way. "But you never got _any_ of the hints. Even I got them, and I know what people say about me. None at all, and I started looking harder at you. You're always pretty self-conscious and ridiculously aware of what others think of you and the expectations placed on you. You don't want anyone to notice. And the most obvious hint: you've never got any interest in girls. Never."

"By Merlin's baggy trousers." Harry whispered. "I don't want anyone to know. It's sick, what I am."

Luna looked oddly at him, and then saw his fears and his insecurities, and pushed moved closer to him.

"I see things no one else does. It's scary, but Daddy and Mummy told me that who I am is what matters, and nothing else does." She smiled.

Taking Harry's hand, she squeezed it tightly.

"You're my friend." She said simply. "Ron and Hermione are your friends. They love you very much – as a brother, of course, and they will not turn on you. I can see it." She said mysteriously. "Don't hide who you are, you'll hurt yourself."

Harry squeezed her hand again, feeling slightly better.

"I will be alright once I've told Ron and Hermione."

Luna looked up and at the door to the library. She could see Hermione storming in, and pointed her out to Harry.

"Don't forget your friends in your fight with yourself." She said, before letting go of Harry's hand and gliding off.

Forgetting all about Malfoy for a moment, Harry ran over to Hermione, seeing that she was vibrating with news and that it was important at that.

Once he reached her, her head snapped up and she grabbed his hand along with Ron's.

"Where are we going?" he asked as they left the library. He pulled his hand away. "Where are we going?" he repeated.

Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"I need to tell you what happened in the meeting!" She paused, seeing Harry's skeptical look. "It's about Malfoy."

* * *

_A/N: The song __**is not mine**__. It's called "The Sorting Hat Song from Lydia's Story By: Phoenix-Dust" Unfortunately I could not contact them for it, but if I get any notification that I cannot use it, I will take it down. It's an incredible song, and I wish that I could write like that._

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Four

It wreathed around him like invisible tendrils; it stuck to him and refused to leave him. It shone like a homing beacon wherever he went; it was home and love and family and safety and everything in between, and he almost punched the wall next to him again as he smelt it. It was driving him completely and utterly insane, the smell of his mate. It was _everywhere_, imbedded in the spirit of Hogwarts and it made him mad that he could never pinpoint that one person his soul cried out for.

"_Where is he_?" He hissed furiously, making Blaise raise his eyebrows and Pansy tap the desk next to her anxiously. "Where is he?"

"Are you sure you've tried everything?" she asked hesitantly. "It's only been three months, after all, you've got almost five months left before you start going mad. Surely it's a bit early to be feeling like this?"

"You have _no idea_!" Draco grabbed his hair, and that alone was enough to make Blaise realise how powerfully his friend felt about his unknown mate.

"Talk to us, then, Draco! Tell us how you feel!" The Slytherin made his way to his friend slowly, and guided him gently to the seat at his desk. As Draco was Head Boy, he had his own room and his own study area, and a timetable on his door so that any younger year that needed help would know when he was available. Only Slytherin younger years ever came to him.

Draco shrugged off his friend, feeling uncomfortable at the contact, and sat down on his seat, his head in his hands.

"I way stupid today, that's how desperate I am," He murmured, and looked at his friends angrily. "The Mudblood friend of Potter, Granger, as you well know is Head Girl. Earlier today, as you also know, we had a meeting with Professor Dumbledore."

* * *

"Talk to us, 'Mione! You've been pacing for the last half hour and if it's not driving Harry insane then it's driving me insane." Ron groaned, looking at Hermione, noticing how she was biting her lip anxiously, and how her fingers curled around her hair in an unconscious habit left over from her Muggle school days. Realising just how worried his girlfriend was, he went over to her, stopped her in her tracks and lifted up his hand to gently unwind her finger from her hair. "What's up?"

"Malfoy, I told you, Ronald, don't you listen?" she asked, annoyed with her boyfriend. Sitting on a desk behind the couple, Harry watched with a soft, sad smile on his face, knowing that he would probably never have the love they did. He shook his head angrily and watched to see if Ron would succeed in getting out what was annoying Hermione.

"'Mione, calm down. We are listening, you're just not telling us." Ron said. "Spill."

"Right." Hermione coughed, embarrassed. "I saw something happen to Malfoy during our Head Boy and Head Girl meeting with Professor Dumbledore." She sighed. "Professor Dumbledore and I were talking together about NEWTs when Malfoy walked into the room."

* * *

_The door opened slowly, and Malfoy came in, composed and poised, dressed in his perfectly tailored robes and his hair perfectly arranged. Suddenly, he caught sight of Hermione and his already pale face blanched._

"_Where have you been, Granger?" he asked, and Hermione could almost say that his voice wavered, hovering over a slightly astonished tone and a tone full of anticipation with a hint of fear._

"_Good afternoon, Malfoy. I'm delighted to see you as well." Hermione replied icily, and Malfoy shook himself, seeming to regain some of his decorum._

"_My apologies, Granger. I am aware that my behaviour is not acceptable in this situation. Good afternoon, Headmaster. Thank you for appointing me to the position of Head Boy."_

"_Indeed." Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his half-moon glances. "I was anxious you would not be able to accept the position, due to your inheritance coming on your birthday."_

_Malfoy seemed to start and glanced shiftily at Hermione, who raised an eyebrow at this very unusual behaviour on the part of the aloof young man. As he sat down on the chair next to her, Hermione noticed his hands clench tightly on the arms of the chair, and his knuckles go white with the strength he was using. _

"_Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger. I hope that you will both be able to work together to the best of your abilities. I know that you are both from very different social classes, and it would be to my utmost delight and pleasure if you both managed to get on with each other. Can I rely on both of you to help Professor McGonagall and me to run Hogwarts?"_

_Hermione glanced at Malfoy and put out her hand to shake his._

"_Please, let's have a truce, for once, Malfoy. For the future of the school I think it's a good idea." _

_Malfoy hesitated and then came to a decision. He leant forwards in his seat, closed his eyes –much to Hermione's complete surprise, and shook her hand. Tension seemed to seep out of him as soon as he touched her and he even __smiled__ at her once they let go._

"_Truce, Granger."_

* * *

"And then we talked about agreeable meeting times and other things to do with Hogwarts." Hermione was about to start pacing again when Ron squeezed her hands again.

"Relax, 'Mione. Thanks for telling us." Ron smiled and pecked her on the cheek. Considering that Hermione was not one of the people pegged as someone who liked physical contact in their year, it had come as a surprise to Harry that she and Ron often hugged, kissed chastely, brushed shoulders, leant or lay on each other and held hands. It made him yearn for that type of comfort with someone, that perfect feeling that you could rely on that person no matter the situation. He shook his head and put on a smile, just as Hermione turned to look at him and then Ron.

"What do you make of it?" she asked them.

"Well, he's obviously expecting something and it's to do with his inheritance." Harry said, jumping down from his desk. "I'm starting to believe you more and more, Hermione, when you say that he's probably not completely human."

* * *

"I almost cracked in front of _Granger_, for Merlin's sake!" Draco cried out. Pansy seemed to be more bothered with the truce than Draco's preoccupation with his state of mind.

"Wait up, wait up, wait up!" she stood up from her chair by his fireplace. "Do you mean to say that we now have to be agreeable to Granger because you've shaken hands agreeing to a truce?"

"My father said that I was no longer to spend my time over Potter and his friends, and the best way to do this is to shake hands agreeing to a truce. After all, it's the only way we're not going to bring the school tumbling down."

Blaise went over to Draco and knelt in front of him, shooting an angry glance at Pansy.

"Draco, where have you narrowed your mate down to?"

Pansy seemed to realise that she had been out of order and smiled sheepishly, moving to stand beside Blaise. Neither of them dared to touch him, knowing how well he reacted to any sort of touch.

"He's obviously not in our house." Almost unconsciously, then more vigorously, Draco started shaking with anger and longing. "Get out!" He gasped out, waving his trembling hand towards his door. "Now!" he ordered, and with concerned glances, Pansy and Blaise hurried out of the room, closing the door softly behind them. He heard them talking to Crabbe and Goyle guarding his door, but ignored it in favour of waving his hand, locking the door almost at once. He shook again, knowing that his wandless power, which he had cultivated over the holidays, was to match his mate's.

Draco stood up smoothly, gracefully, and dropped the outer robe of his uniform to the ground, untying his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. They all dropped to the ground, revealing a subtly muscled chest with a thin trail of platinum blonde hair. He gasped and fell to the ground, shaking violently. Suddenly, his wings burst from his back, framing him and his beauty, their tips touching the ceiling of his room. He fluttered them and felt the pure longing for his mate to wrap them around bolt through him.

It was getting stronger, and he was only three weeks into his six months. He didn't understand why his longing was so strong –he was only supposed to feel it by the second month, and even then not to the extent he was feeling. Standing up, Draco raced to the bookshelves lining his room, wincing as his wings squashed uncomfortably against the ceiling. Pausing a moment, he thought about folding them but not pulling them in and watched as they folded against his back, a strong, settling weight of certainty against the fear he felt about his mate, and he pulled out an old, ancient tome his father had given him to pack, saying that "It's not the mass-produced rubbish given out these days, and it will tell you everything you need to know about your inheritance."

Draco heaved it onto the bed, brushing the dust off it and watching as the binding glowed gold, recognising that he was a Malfoy with the Veela inheritance, and it opened. Running his long fingers down the index, Draco stopped at _Early Signs, page 356_, and tapped it twice with his finger. The book seemed to take a deep breath and fluttered to the desired page, sending out a cloud of dust, making Draco cough as he fought to see the pages revealed to him.

_Once a Veela has received their inheritance, it is common to feel occasional pangs until the Longing sets in, six months after the start of the inheritance. However, some Veela feel longing pangs for their mate extremely soon after their inheritance (c. 2-3 months), which can be quite common in numerous cases. _

_One of the most common cases, which is the recurring one nine times out of ten, is that the original feelings the Veela felt before their inheritance for their mate, which transform into the true feelings after the inheritance, are bringing together a connection between the mates that demonstrates a closeness beyond compare. These mates have often already initiated the first stage of the bonding without realising it, and the Veela is feeling the separation as well as some of their mate's feelings. In this case, his or her mate, more often than not, feels abandoned and unable to be loved by anyone else. Sometimes, this connection is made unconsciously when the Veela feels that their mate needs help. It can be initiated simply by being in the same room as their mate._

_This case is confirmed if the Veela starts feeling disgusted by anyone else's touch, as well as a longing to wrap their wings around their mate. Unfortunately, this process accelerates the Veela's deterioration, as they are so desperate to help and comfort their mate that their inability to do so makes them feel inadequate. Most of the time, the Veelas only last two months in this state before completely fading away. By this stage, the Veela will only accept physical contact from their parents._

Draco felt the book close underneath his hand and he started gasping for breath, his shock rendering him speechless. Dying? Bonded? How? He searched his mind frantically for any sign of a spark or a flame that had been lit by a touch or a look. He had been annoyed and angry with some people, but…his mate? He hadn't talked to anyone memorable apart from Dumbledore, Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle and some first years in the past three weeks. He was so occupied with wracking his brain that was unaware that he was letting off soft whimpers of sadness and confusion.

His rational mind suddenly coming to fore, Draco almost crawled to the fireplace and tossed a large handful of Floo Powder into it, desperate for his parents and the advice and comfort they could offer.

"Draco?" Narcissa's face materialised in the fireplace, and her son heaved a sign of relief, his hand shaking as he extended it towards his mother.

"Mum," he whispered, and Narcissa was immediately alerted to the fact that something was wrong. Draco had never called her 'Mum' unless he was in desperate need of comfort or help. "Please come, please. Something's happened and I'm not sure how to deal with it."

* * *

_A/N: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Please review, it's always appreciated._


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N:__ Any quotes from the books are in __**bold**__._

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Five

His hands skimmed gently over the worn covers of the books, longing to land on something finally worth reading and with the answers he desired. His eyes scanned the shelves, one after the other, and occasionally his fingers would pause, before moving on, seemingly defeated by their task. There was nothing, and like a pigeon that had lost the sense guiding it home, he put his head in his hands and shook silently.

There were no words for what he had been feeling lately. Sometimes he longed for a kind word that meant more than just friendship and loyalty, or a passing glance that implied a heavier relationship. His friends, so caught up in their own lives, only had spare moments for him and he knew it. Harry knew it, and it tore shreds into his heart and he begged for someone to take up those shreds and piece them together perfectly, not with the jagged rips still in place when he attempted to glue them together.

The library had become his sanctuary. The table at the far end of the Defense Section was 'Potter's corner', everyone knew that. Not even Madame Pince tried to move his books left there overnight –even Hermione, her favourite student, had never shown such zeal for the library. Harry began to know each shelf, each book and the feeling of them under his hands became familiar and welcoming. He did not know how long he spent there in the evenings, seeing Ron and Hermione chuckling and giggling near the Quidditch Pitch almost constantly made him lose his sense of being. For some, it was a shock when Harry quit the Quidditch Team, but ever since Malfoy had dedicated his life to work and being the perfect Head Boy, Harry had lost all competition. Quidditch was not worth the training if it meant he had no competition and all the Beaters aimed for was him.

He had not lost his longing to fly. Many evenings, late at night, Harry would sneak out with his beloved Firebolt and chase after the small ball he had charmed, keeping up his fitness and his strength secretly and by himself. If Neville, Seamus, Dean or Ron had noticed Harry's late-night wanderings, they said nothing. If they saw his old, sweat-drenched Quidditch gear lying beside his bed, they said nothing. If they heard the quiet sobs when Harry forgot the Silencing Charms, they said nothing. Harry's life had gained a monotony that was frightening, and though the ever-present threat of Voldemort was only around the corner, Harry found, to his sadness, that he wouldn't really care if he left the world as long as Voldemort left with him.

It was this he was thinking when Luna approached him, a month into the Michaelmas Term. Luna, being Luna, had kept a discreet but shrewd eye on her friend, watching his late night wanderings and hearing his quiet pleas for love and friendship as he flew. How she knew what he yearned for, she wasn't sure, but she wanted to help him, and though Luna found it difficult to feel angry or annoyed at someone, she managed to do so quite well in relation to Ron and Hermione.

"Harry?" she asked, sliding next to him, seeing him smile wanly as he saw her.

"Hey, Luna." He murmured, moving over to make space for her. "How are you?"

"In all certainty, I can assure you that I am most definitely in a better place than you are." Luna said honestly, before grabbing Harry's hand. "What are you doing in the Care of Magical Creatures section? I wasn't aware that you had moved here."

"Moved here? What do you mean?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Even the Plimpies, as blind as they are, would see that you're hiding in the library, Harry." Luna hummed a soft tune under her breath, and Harry relaxed slightly. Luna tilted her head to the side and smiled so brightly that Harry could not help but smile back. "Why have you moved here?"

Harry, looking around at the books, sighed again and his sudden smile left his face as soon as it had come, fleeting, like the wind. "Hermione's convinced that Malfoy is a creature, and since she's so busy with Ron," Harry's voice was bitter when he spoke, "I took it upon myself to research it. It's not like they care enough to bother."

"**Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it**, Harry. Why are you hiding from your pain and your longing? Everyone sees what you have become – eventually, you'll turn suicidal and go after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"But, Merlin, Luna, it hurts to wake up and walk through the corridors trying to be the old Harry Potter. My life isn't worth it, so much has changed." Harry whispered, looking desperately into Luna's eyes, wanting, no, _needing_, something there and he didn't know what it was. Luna squeezed his hand and hummed her soft tune again. Harry squeezed back and looked to his extraordinary friend for wisdom.

"**To hurt is as human as to breathe**, and you're only human, Harry. Everyone wants love and unconditional love at that. There are only a few people who can give you that, and humans aren't that type of person."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked curiously. "There's such a thing as unconditional love, in a human, Luna. My mother had it."

"No, Harry, not that type of unconditional love." Luna smiled, seeing Harry coming out of his soulless misery for a moment, and she gathered her thoughts before she lost him again. "When Mummy was alive, she would tell me beautiful stories about creatures created by love herself, Aphrodite, or Venus, to love a person their heart had chosen before they knew it, and to give them everything unconditionally."

"That doesn't exist. True love like that is for fools who have too much time."

"No!" Luna cried out, her eyes going wide. Harry was alarmed. "Don't say that! You break everything, every rule!" She paused, her eyes looking down at her feet. "You break everything I ever believed in after Mummy's death." Harry nodded to acknowledge that he was out of order, and Luna, smiling again, continued, "It's true, and I am not lying. I know what people say about me, but I know more than anyone about this type of love. After all, I grew up on stories about it."

"But weren't they just that – stories?" Harry wondered. "Love before you've met the person isn't possible."

"But these creatures _have_ met the person before –and felt _something_ for them. If not love, then hate or appreciation or respect. Always, always something and it always becomes love."

"Then these creatures must be dead." Harry snorted, but he felt something, something different from the mind-numbing defeat, stir in his heart and mind and soul and he sat up straighter and listened harder. Luna noticed and went on, a smile tugging at her lips.

"Unfortunately, it is often their curse to die without ever being accepted. Sometimes, their chosen ones are too single-minded to listen, or to accept that it can be true. They have a period of six months they go without descending into Longing, where they go to one place their body has unconsciously recognised as their chosen one's place, and they collapse their, hoping for their death. If they bond spiritually with their chosen ones before this period and go without touching them for more than two months, they go into Longing and die. This is often an unusual development, because they normally find their chosen ones before this."

Harry, despite his earlier cynicism, felt something in his heart lighten, and turned to ask Luna what they were, these creatures, but the question died on his lips when he saw that she had walked away, smiling widely at him as she closed the door to the library. He would never understand Luna, but for some reason he had been filled with a new sense of purpose and it was, feeling this, that he looked harder and closer at the books around him, searching for the elusive creature Luna had named, for some reason desperately hoping she was not just making them up like she often did.

He was not aware just how much he longed for this truth, and why. His soul saw the hourglass slowly running out of sand, and pushed him to find an answer before it was too late.

* * *

After their son's admission of what he had discovered, the Malfoy Family was plunged into a sense of serious alarm. Narcissa and Lucius tried everything, from using Legilimancy to retracing Draco's steps, to try and work out who his mate was, but to no avail. They saw their son almost shrink beneath them, but his iron will remained the same even though his soul screamed out to him that his mate wished for him no more, and they admired their son for his far-fetched, but reasonable plans and supported him through every one.

It was on one of Draco's Head Boy meetings with the Head Girl, just the two of them, which he decided to use his truce to his advantage and concoct another plan. If he only had one month left to live, he might as well live them with no inhibitions.

"Granger." He nodded sternly to the Muggleborn, who was sitting on a chair near his desk. Every week, they alternated between Draco and Granger's studies for their meetings, and this time it was Draco's turn and he intended to use it to his advantage.

"Malfoy." Their animosity had mostly disappeared beneath the respect they felt for their counterpart, Draco managing the Slytherin and Ravenclaw Houses, Hermione managing the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor Houses and both of them doing an excellent job of it. Though they never spoke in the corridors, and they kept an icy silence outside of their studies, a vague, unsure and tentative trust had built up between them, easily knocked to pieces but one Draco intended to use to his advantage.

"May I ask you a question, with no relation to the content of this meeting?" Draco asked, gritting his teeth suddenly when he felt a vague waft of his mate's scent come from Granger. He was used to the odd student smelling of him, and thought nothing of the fact that the scent was particularly strong on Granger, and concentrated on keeping his wings sheathed.

"Go ahead, but remember that it cannot put me in any danger whatsoever." Granger's eyes were narrowed and calculating, but her in-built sense of curiosity won out over her mind.

"I don't see you and Weasley and Potter together a lot." He said, smiling politely, but his words were barbed and he saw Granger look guilty. "I mean, it's quite sad to see such a friendship…deteriorate."

"What do you want, Malfoy?" she asked, seeing through his comments to the fact that Draco wanted something from her and would use her friendship with Potter to get it.

"Well," Draco leant forwards, his eyes scanning hers. "I need help."

"Go ahead," Granger replied, and Draco saw that he had aroused her curiosity, asking her for help when he had never done so before.

"You have access to the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Common Rooms, don't you?" she nodded. "I have a problem." He took a deep breath, knowing full well that he was trusting her with his life. "I received my inheritance in June, on my birthday."

"_Now_ I'm interested."

* * *

Naturally, Ron was aware that he missed things –hints that were as plain as day to anyone else, but he was aware that something was bothering Hermione, enough to make her pull away from him and look out of the window and sigh. After three days of this behaviour, Ron started to feel slightly frazzled and longed for a break from his girlfriend, knowing full well that she wouldn't tell him anything until she was ready. Sighing, he collapsed onto a comfortable sofa in the Common Room, and glanced around the room, looking for something to distract him.

Everyone was peaceful, desperately hiding in the cocoon of safety Hogwarts offered instead of looking to the bleak future of fighting Voldemort. However, Ron saw that something was amiss. There was an itch underneath the House Ron could see as plain as day, and he wondered what it was about. Belatedly, he realised that he was very far from knowing what was happening around Hogwarts –he had been so obsessed with his life with Hermione that he had neglected anything that didn't regard her.

He closed his eyes and listened around the Common Room. It was a tactic he had mastered early on in his childhood, being able to hear further away from him when his eyes were closed. It had been a helpful trick when trying to hear his parents discuss what punishment they would give the twins next, and had been a method to blackmail them into leaving him alone and pranking Percy instead. Therefore, Ron's hearing went out to a group of girls sitting in a corner near him.

"He's so _miserable_." One of them was saying. Ron heard a few breathy chuckles before she continued. "I think he should just get a girlfriend already."

"He spends all his time in the library and then mopes around ridiculously." Another voice agreed, and Ron suddenly knew exactly whom they were talking about. Harry. "I wonder what happened to alienate him from his friends –you know, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley."

"Of course we know who they are!" And that was all Ron heard before he came crashing back to earth.

Ron had not seen his friend for days. Admittedly, he had been so centered on Hermione, but he was not aware that he had alienated his friend to such an extent. Knowing now that Hermione was occupied thinking about whatever she was thinking about, it was probably the best time to find his friend.

* * *

Harry had found a book. Mind you, it wasn't any book. It was an extremely old, fragile, dusty copy called _Most Mystical Magical Creatures_ Madame Pince had leant him, frowning and muttering dire threats if he did anything out of order to the precious relic, but all the same handing it over. He had read through it up until page 246, until he reached a page on a certain creature species called Veela, who were referred to as 'Aphrodite's Loved Ones' and seemed to have a ring of what Luna had been telling him. His eyebrows raised high into his forehead, Harry was about to start reading about them when he felt, rather than saw, a very familiar long, lanky body with no grace fall into a chair on his self-proclaimed desk in the library.

"Hi." Ron said, looking awkwardly at the large tome in front of Harry. Harry did not look at his friend nor did he reply to him, feeling slightly annoyed at the neglect his friend had been showing him. In fact, more than slightly annoyed, "Well, this is awkward."

"No kidding." Harry murmured sarcastically, glaring at Ron with pent-up resentment and bitterness. "One tends to feel awkward sitting beside one's friend one hasn't talked to for a while. What do you say?"

Ron wasn't sure how to approach this new, angrier and more biting friend. Harry's mind seemed to have expanded and to have absorbed the knowledge in the library shelves and it was rather disconcerting to see the new wit Harry had discovered aimed at him, and not in a helpful way.

"Well, I'm sorry?" Ron asked, not knowing why he was asking his friend if he was sorry. The only was to talk to Harry would be to be sincere. "I really am."

Harry snorted. He felt so defensive, so angry, but deep down he felt deep fear at what his friend could think of him, enough to leave him for so long with no support.

"Look, I'm not here to listen to you saying sorry to me. What do you want? Hermione in one of her moods and you want second-best and you think I'm going to give it to you?"

Ron was floored. That was exactly what he had been looking for –distraction from a problem presented as Hermione. Instead of replying to Harry's questions, he turned to look at the page Harry was about to read, and saw the word _Veela_ written in elegant script on it.

"You're looking up Veela?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Harry asked defensively, and saw Ron sigh like he had given up. He felt a bit guilty, and rolled his eyes at his friend in a j. "Yes, they're Veela. You know anything about them?"

"Well, I can tell you about them if you want me to. Anything to try and understand you better now, Harry. I'm sorry, I really am. But I'm willing to listen –or talk, whatever you want."

Harry saw the hesitant olive branch for what it was and was too tired to fight against it. Maybe Ron could tell him something about Veela instead of him killing himself with a headache reading about them. He nodded and heard Ron's sigh of relief.

"Well, erm, Veela. When I saw them in fourth year, I was desperate to know more about them, and I went and asked my parents about what they were. I also, funny enough, read up on them." Ron did not mention that his obsession with Veela in fourth year had something to do with Fleur Delacour. "And, furthermore, Fleur being Bill's fiancée gave me firsthand information." Ron made himself comfortable and leant back in his seat, seeing a spark in his friend's eye and desperately searching through his mind for any residue knowledge to keep the spark going. "The origins of Veela are based on myth. What people _do_ know about them is that they are made of love, all-consuming, perfect love."

"Is there such thing?" Harry asked skeptically.

"I know, it's hard to believe!" Ron agreed enthusiastically, happy to impart some sort of information to his friend, and also quite happy to prove that he could know something interesting. "But there is, and I've seen it firsthand. Fleur worships the very ground Bill walks on. Nothing Bill can do is wrong. Well, that's not exactly correct. They have ridiculous, numerous arguments, but they crave each other like nothing I've ever seen before. A Veela's love is perfect."

"Perfect?" Harry repeated. Ron dug through the recesses of his mind to find a reason for the perfect love Veela had for their mate.

"A Veela is made of love, but even if they are made of love, it is love for someone else. Their love for someone else is completely and utterly senseless. Veela always, without fail, look perfect and are perfectly educated –they come from old Pureblood lines and are incredibly aware of their heritage, but despite this, if the Veela's mate is a hunchback missing a leg with no teeth and an almost incomprehensible accent, the Veela will still love their mate unconditionally with nothing holding them back. It _has_ been shown before. Nothing will stop them from doing anything to love their mate."

"Nothing?" Harry echoed, feeling a bit empty from the sheer unconditional love a Veela seemed to be able to offer, and wondering if this seemingly all-perfect race accepted people like him.

"Despite this perfect love a Veela offers – because it is perfect, despite what you say," Ron felt strong enough to tease his friend, "They seem to be cursed with many different things. One of which is that they never know who their mate is until they reach their inheritances. This means that if they manage to alienate their mate earlier in their life they'll have hell to pay when they discover that their mate is this person. They're also cursed to die without their mate. They have a six-month period where they can live without their mate and then they go into Longing, where their mind, body and soul suffer to the point of eventually dying, all because they didn't have their mate. And if their mate rejects them, they die within forty-eight hours, but their mate will keep living."

"Can't the Veela then love the person only because they want to survive? Isn't that love _too_ quick?" Harry asked, thumbing through the pages of the book, feeling the comforting material and trying to rid himself of the image of Veela that had firmly settled in his mind.

Ron paused, unsure as to how to answer this question.

"Well, I said that a Veela already knew their mate before their inheritance set in. They almost always feel a strong emotion for them, whether it is respect, admiration, friendship and for the strongest bonds, hate. Because hate bonds _are_ the strongest ones. That's because," Ron saw Harry's questioning glance, "Because it takes so long for the mate to accept the Veela and therefore the trust they have is forged most powerfully. I don't know!" Ron waved his hands in the air. "I don't know about hate bonds that much, just that all of them eventually work. I said that _Veela are made of love_. Therefore, they cannot hate or feel anything else but love for their mate once they have reached their inheritances." Ron sighed and closed his eyes. "I'm not a genius."

Harry's eyes were wide by then. Ron had surprised him by knowing an awful lot more about Veela and who they were than he thought that he would. Originally, he had thought that it would be the _right_ thing to do to listen to his friend and hope that he got something out of it, and then he'd feel that he wouldn't need to read about them. However, what Ron said correlated so well with what Luna had said, especially about the Longing, that Harry was plunged into dreams and wishes that he wished he could never had. Nothing had ever affected him so much as the thought of Veela.

"Hey, I'm sorry I wasn't good enough. You want me to leave now?" Ron asked, seeing his friend's closed off face and thinking that he had messed up again. He also felt like he was missing something here, and talking to Hermione would take his mind off this problem. He couldn't place his finger on it, but he hoped that it would come to him.

"No, no." Harry murmured, waving his hand in the vague direction of Ron. "Thanks. I owe you one. You just helped me fight off a looming killer headache."

Something in Harry's voice told Ron that he had helped, and he felt incredibly pleased about that. He had never been good enough in the past to actually _help_ someone with something they were desperate to know, and to impart knowledge was also a pretty nice thing as well. He worked out that it couldn't hurt once in a while to know some odd facts about odd things. It felt good to see Harry smiling at him again.

"Anytime, mate. We okay again, then?" Ron asked tentatively.

"Yeah, sorry for being an idiot." Harry smiled. "You go and enjoy your girlfriend. She's most likely fretting too much about something and might need…ah…some _distraction_ only you can provide."

Ron went beet red, and shook his head at his friend, all the while standing up. He moved to Harry and put a hand on his shoulder. Harry looked at Ron and Ron looked at Harry for a moment before Ron spoke.

"You know, mate, I'm not an idiot. Something's up with you. Just don't alienate yourself from us. We like you even though we're together, okay, mate? You can tell us anything, you know."

Harry smiled tightly and tapped his friend's hand for a second or two.

"I know. Off you go."

Ron gave Harry a final pat and left him, and for a moment, Harry opened his mouth to call him back to tell him. To tell him everything. But then his fear stopped him and he turned sadly back to his book. He wouldn't have a friend ever again if he told him, no matter what Luna said. He wouldn't ever be loved properly.

Angrily, he shut the page about Veela, not wanting to know more about the perfect love they offered that he could never have. Never.

* * *

Walking back into the Common Room, Ron was suddenly struck by a thought –the stray thought that had been floating around his mind while he had been talking to Harry. Why was Harry looking up Veela?

"_Well, there's no way in hell Malfoy can be human. Not with that many changes about him."_

"Hermione!" he shouted, running up the stairs towards Hermione's dorm, and then skidding to a stop right before the entrance to the girls' dorm –remembering what would happen if he stepped any further. "Hermione Granger! I know you're not in your office! Get down here!" he yelled, ignoring the concerned looks he was getting from his housemates.

He heard running footsteps before a more than harried Hermione came down the stairs, looking like a thunderstorm that had lost its direction, her hair all over the place and a furious frown on her face.

"What? It better be good!" she asked grumpily, leaning on the wall just inside the boundaries of the girls' dorms. Ron sighed.

"I need to talk to you urgently, in your study. Please." He must have looked desperate enough because Hermione stepped down from the boundary and stalked out of the Gryffindor Common Room, through the corridors, dispersing students left and right who did not dare interrupt the ferocious-looking Head Girl's pathway, and finally into her office. Ron, who had half-walked, half-jogged down the corridors, collapsed onto one of the chairs and caught his breath while Hermione looked at him from where she was standing by her desk.

"Well?"

"What were you doing in the Gryffindor dorms?" he asked. "You have a room here."

"I needed to check something with Lavender. Tell me what you're on about."

"Harry." Ron saw a flash of guilt pass across Hermione's face and her eyes soften. "Yes, Harry. We've not been the best of friends to him recently."

"I know. I'm sorry for it." Hermione sounded genuinely unhappy, but Ron didn't move from his seat, thoughts buzzing around his mind. He was on the verge of something huge, but his puzzle was missing a fundamental piece.

"Well, I went to find him while you were having a tizzy fit earlier." Ron smiled to show that his words held no sting, and Hermione relaxed, smiling apologetically. "And he was looking at a huge book about magical creatures and it was open on a page about Veela."

Hermione twitched where she was standing, and Ron paused. Hermione only looked like that when she had something important in her mind she was trying to grasp. When she didn't say anything, Ron moved on.

"And I told him about Veela because I was feeling really sorry for myself and the fact that I'd been ignoring him, and he kept looking bloody miserable the entire time, smiling now and then, note. And then while I was walking back to the Common Room, some thought that'd been wandering around suddenly made sense."

"Well, of course it wouldn't take that long, you don't have much in there anyway." Hermione said fondly, her smile widening across her face and her eyes sparkling. Ron grinned, but then moved on.

"And then I remembered what you'd said at the beginning of term about how Malfoy couldn't be human." Ron looked confused. "But then I stopped because I _know_ I'm missing something –what has made me think of what you said about Malfoy when I was thinking about Harry?"

Hermione had gone pale and her eyes were wide. Ron could almost see her thought process and he waited with baited breath.

"I think I have your missing piece."

* * *

_A/N: Loved it? Hated it? Something to say? Do review._


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Six

The wind howled furiously around the turrets, shaking Hogwarts to her bones and making students huddle inside their Common Rooms, anxious for any source of heat. Rattling the windows and flying through the corridors went the wind, angrily searching, angrily yearning. In her office, Hermione huddled closer to the fire, waiting for Ron to come in.

After hers and Ron's epiphany the week before, they had sat down and tried to work out the best plan of action. Knowing that Malfoy and Harry's lives were interlinked by Fate had come as a jarring shock to both of them, especially Ron, and they had left their discovery hanging after reaching dead end after dead end in their plans.

Now, however, as the wind stalked the corridors of Hogwarts, Hermione knew that the time was coming where Harry's apathy would have to be dealt with. As Head Girl, she was well aware that Professor McGonagall would soon be coming to her asking her to deal with Harry's issues –it was annoying that teachers felt strongly that students would be able to deal with other students' issues. Hearing two doors fly open and hit themselves against the wall further down the corridor, Hermione huddled closer to the fire, her eyes closing as she tried to grab onto the heat sputtering out of the fireplace.

All her hopes for any sort of heat were dashed when her study door opened, bringing with it a gust of wind and Ronald Weasley. Smiling in exasperation, Hermione shut the door hurriedly and helped him take off his scarf. Even with mussed bright red hair, his lips blue with cold and his cheeks red, Hermione found him attractive and she kissed his cheeks softly, replacing her lips with her warm hands once she moved away.

"Why were you outside?" she asked, pulling Ron closer to the fire, which was giving a valiant effort towards relighting itself. With a wave of her wand, Hermione forced it to be stronger, warmer and soon she could feel herself finally starting to heat up.

"I don't know why you didn't think of casting Warming Charms, 'Mione." Ron replied fondly, casting some himself. "I was outside because I met Hagrid in the corridor and he needed help carrying some branches over to his hut. It's all right now, but it was bloody freezing out there. I've no idea why the wind's so strong today, it shouldn't be like this until at least November and it's only October."

"I was thinking," Hermione started, ploughing ahead once she'd had her question answered.

"Always good to know you're still doing that." Ron said with a smile when his girlfriend smacked him on his elbow.

"Shut up, Ronald!" she glared fondly at him, bringing him to her sofa and sitting him down, placing herself gently on his lap and putting her head on his shoulder. "Anyway, I was thinking about Harry."

"It's all we seem to be doing nowadays." Ron sighed, feeling the playful mood drop. "I know, I know I shouldn't be saying things like this but it's true. It's like his apathy is getting to us to!"

"We owe him, Ron, don't ever forget that." Hermione said angrily. "He's our friend and it's because of his recklessness that you and I even became friends. Saving each other from a mountain troll does help these situations, you know."

"It's just that it's _Malfoy_."

"What's your issue with Malfoy? We can only guess that Malfoy will treat Harry with all the love he's ever needed or deserved. You and I can't give him that type of love, and nor can your family or mine."

"Our families have a long-lasting feud dating back years and years. I don't even know what it is, just that because of something one of our ancestors did to a Malfoy and through this we ended up being branded as blood traitors. My dad despises Lord Malfoy for the fall in their fortunes and has taught us to do the same. I can't let down my family to accept Malfoy, 'Mione. I just can't."

"Then what's Harry to you?" Hermione asked, her voice rising along with her feeling. "I mean, to me he's a brother. We may not be related, but after destroying a mountain troll, deciphering riddles to help him find Quirrell, getting Petrified by a Basilisk to help him, turning back time to free Sirius, I mean, after all that I think that you _must_ have some sort of emotional attachment to him." She leaned back against his shoulder so that she could see him, and saw his eyes looking ahead, unfocused and staring at the misty window.

"I know what you mean, 'Mione. Trust me, I do," Ron sighed heavily. "And you're right. He _is_ a brother to me."

Hermione kissed his cheek and waited for him to continue.

"Then I guess I'm not betraying my family by supporting my surrogate brother." Ron hedged, and paused.

"But?"

"He's not my blood brother! I don't want to betray my true family."

"Harry is, though, Ron. Don't forget everything you two have been through and everything Molly Weasley has told Harry. Maybe Harry and Malfoy's fates being intertwined could bridge the gap between your families."

There was a long silence in which Hermione moved closer to Ron to try and gain more heat, feeling the cold seep into the room through the walls despite the Warming Charms and the fire now crackling merrily in the grate. They sat together, their thoughts milling around chaotically in their heads, idea after idea running through their minds trying to find a way to help their friend.

"I think I have an idea." Ron murmured quietly, looking steadily at Hermione.

* * *

Draco could not be bothered. He couldn't care less as to whether or not Millicent Bulstrode had discovered that she actually liked someone, or that Daphne Greengrass wanted her sister, Astoria Greengrass, to have a betrothal with him. All he longed for was his mate. His perfect, wonderful mate.

As he raged around his study, hearing the vengeful wind hunting lone students down the corridors, he yearned for someone to hold through this cold day, to cherish and to comfort. His wings burst through his back again and he ground his teeth down angrily. It was getting harder and harder for him to control them, especially when his longing was so strong. He had read more books about Veela, asking Pansy or Blaise to go down to the library to get them, and he knew that his wings kept on coming out to try to compensate for not having his mate with him. He felt them flutter on his back and he knew that this time, he would have to trek down to the library by himself to get a book. Looking out of his gloomy window, he sighed.

Luck just wasn't with him right now.

* * *

Harry almost slammed his head against the shelf when he felt his headache coming back. Having been up to Madame Pomfrey about three times in one day for headache relievers, he was in no way inclined to go back up again. Why weren't they doing anything to him? His headaches had seemed like nothing more than simple pains coming from overwork, but now that the relievers were doing nothing, Harry knew that they were a lot more than that. He was almost inclined to find Hermione, but guessed that she and Ron would most likely be curled up in a sofa together and he had no want to be witness to any sickly displays of sweetness.

That was why he found himself perusing the magical illness section in the library, hoping to find something on chronic headaches, when he heard the library door open and someone angrily stamp their feet on the mat inside. Surprised, Harry turned to see who it was, knowing that no one in his or her right mind would ever be coming to the library in this weather. Not even Madame Pince had come down, and that was saying something.

It was Malfoy. It was a Malfoy looking dishevelled and tired. Harry couldn't help but stare from behind his bookshelf at the way his shoulders sagged and his eyes looked defeated and angry. His clothes were mussed, but not in an adorable, comfortable way, but like if his skin was itching and he couldn't rid himself of the itch. Suddenly, his head snapped up and a rather animalistic growl tore from his lips. Harry hid himself further behind his bookshelf and shivered when he heard the sound of ripping clothes. What could Malfoy be doing?

* * *

His scent permeated the air of the library. It was everywhere, seeping out through the bookshelves and into the very essence of the library. Everything seemed to ooze of his mate and Draco snarled his anger that the shelves had obviously been touched by his mate when he hadn't. His wings tore from his shoulders and he growled deeper, stalking towards the shelves on magical plants, trying to smell him out. Why was it that he had never thought of coming here?

As his fingers touched a book called _Magical Plants for Magical Ailments_, he heard an intake of breath from somewhere and he growled. Who had seen him in his Veela form? Who had dared look upon what only his mate could see? His wings snapped on his shoulders, Draco's mind falling further and further into his Veela and he snarled again, his head whirling around towards the sound. It was sacrilege to Draco's Veela mind and he had to hunt down the person who had dared to look at him.

* * *

As they rushed through the corridors going to the library, Ron had an idle thought: Why didn't they just let Harry and Malfoy find themselves? Sooner or later they would properly cross paths, and then he wouldn't need to interfere and mess with his family's feud by trying to set his best mate up with his worst enemy. Looking down at his girlfriend, though, Ron knew that he was caught in a whirlwind and there was no use even trying to resist.

It was just as they reached the door that they heard the low, threatening growl. That alone was enough to make them both reach for their wands, but what made them glance at each other in fear was the sudden thought that their friend was most likely in there with this feral animal. Slowly pushing open the door, they peeked their heads around and it was all Ron could do to hold in the shout of shock about to leave his mouth.

Malfoy was stalking the bookshelves, stunning, breathtaking wings extended from his back, his head held high in the air. Hermione shook her head. She knew that there was nothing they could do and that Malfoy would be looking for Harry. Malfoy would find Harry.

There was no doubt in her mind as she relaxed and watched events unfold.

* * *

Draco's mind was on overdrive. He was so close to finding his prey, but his mate's heady scent was constantly trying to overpower him. He could not believe that he had not come down here sooner. The scent surrounding the shelves would have kept him going for weeks. His mind suddenly snapped back to tracking down the intruder, feeling all the pent-up anger thrumming through his veins and longing to unleash them on someone.

He turned towards the medical section of the library, where his mate's scent was the strongest and he bared his teeth at the thought that the intruder was in the part of the library his mate obviously preferred. Ready to rip the person's head off for their sacrilege, he rounded the shelves only to be assaulted by the strongest dose of his mate's scent he had ever smelt. His eyes softened and his wings relaxed as his tired grey eyes found haunted green ones and all Draco wanted to do was to pull the person into his arms and never let him go.

* * *

Harry stared at the angry creature, the air between them electrically charged, before he noticed that Malfoy was taking deep inhales and his eyes had softened considerably. Harry could almost see the tired sheen lifting off Malfoy and he licked his lips that had been dry with terror only moments before. Malfoy took a step forward, his hand outstretched in a very familiar déjà vu moment.

"Mate."

The word was spoken in a guttural, throaty voice nothing like Malfoy's educated one, and the huge wings extended from Malfoy's back looked soft and warm and inviting. Despite himself, Harry's hand extended towards them before he pulled it back, feeling silly.

"You can touch them, you know," said Malfoy, stepping forwards again, his hand still outstretched. His body was almost pulsing with tension, Harry noticed. "They were made for you."

"W-What?" Harry stuttered, the sentence taking him so by surprise that he stumbled backwards, about to fall. This seemed to kick start an unconscious reaction in Malfoy, who rushed forwards and grabbed Harry around the waist, his arm holding him, supporting him ever so gently and preventing him from falling.

Malfoy pulled him up again and Harry noticed how much closer they were to each other. He could almost see Malfoy's anxious breaths and Harry was sure that Malfoy could hear his frantic heartbeats.

"My wings." Malfoy murmured, stretching them out to their full, magnificent capacity. Harry couldn't help but admire them and he craned his neck to look at them. "They were made for my mate."

"Your mate?" Harry asked, latching on to the words, never asking himself how surreal this situation must seem, but wanting to know what Malfoy was on about.

"I am a Veela."

* * *

"_The origins of Veela are based on myth. What people do know about them is that they are made of love, all-consuming, perfect love."_

* * *

The lone sentence about Veela struck his mind and Harry pulled back in surprise. He saw Malfoy's shoulders drop at the loss of contact but he continued to speak.

"You can't be right! I'm not your mate! You hate me." Even as he said those words, they rang false in his ears.

* * *

"_Therefore, they cannot hate or feel anything else but love for their mate once they have reached their inheritances."_

* * *

"I don't hate you. If you could look at yourself or smell yourself, you wouldn't hate yourself either. You are my mate."

* * *

"_The Veela will still love their mate unconditionally with nothing holding them back. It has been shown before. Nothing will stop them from doing anything to love their mate."_

* * *

"That's impossible."

"Trust me, it's not. I chose you long before I even knew I had."

* * *

"_To love a person their heart had chosen before they knew it, and to give them everything unconditionally."_

* * *

"It can't be right! I can't be your mate!" Harry cried out, turning away from Malfoy in shock, not daring to believe that all his dreams could be on the verge of being realised.

"You're not rejecting me, are you?" Malfoy asked, his voice suddenly going off-colour and cold.

* * *

"_And if their mate rejects them, they die within forty-eight hours, but their mate will keep living."_

* * *

Harry started breathing heavily, his mind on overdrive. He could feel his crushing loneliness, the heavy feeling that no one would ever love him pulsing in the back of his mind and he turned around to see Malfoy standing tall and proud, but as Harry stared into his eyes, he saw fear. That was what made him take a step forwards and extend his hand in return.

"Are you scared?" Harry blurted out, feeling daft after his question but he saw Malfoy's lips quirk into a wry smile.

"Terrified." Malfoy took his hand and squeezed it tightly. "But it's a nice terrified. Because I'm scared for you."

"Why? How could you possibly be scared for me?" Harry cocked his head to the side, feeling their joined hands and heartbeats against his fingers.

"You're worth being scared for. I want you to be happy, and I'm scared that you're not and I want you to be so badly." Malfoy spoke fast and furiously, his tone of voice matching the roaring wind outside. But to Harry it felt calm and soft and safe and he relaxed.

"Do you want to try this?" Harry asked. "Truly?"

"Of course. I've wanted to try this for a long time without even knowing I have." Malfoy stepped closer until they were almost nose-to-nose, Harry almost going cross-eyed.

"Then call me Harry."

"Do me the honour of calling me Draco."

* * *

_A/N: Loved it? Hated it? Suggestions to improve it? Do tell me._


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Seven

_Dear Father and Mother,_

_It is with great joy that I write to tell you that I have at long last found my mate. Please be at Hogwarts at your earliest convenience to meet him._

_Yours with love and respect,_

_Draco Malfoy_

"Do you think that will do?" Draco asked anxiously, glancing over at Pansy while his fingers tied it automatically to his owl's leg, who was smiling at his preoccupation. "I don't want to seem standoffish."

"Think, Draco. A few days ago you wouldn't have cared _how_ you worded your letters to your parents, just that you didn't have your mate. Now you do have your mate your life is suddenly back to normal." Pansy raised an eyebrow towards her friend and waited for him to acknowledge her superior intellect. Draco huffed and let the owl fly off before turning back to Pansy.

"My life isn't back to normal. I have my mate, nothing is back to normal, and it's wonderful!" Draco smiled broadly in an uncharacteristic display of emotion that made Pansy smile and Blaise hide his head in his hands and groan in defeat.

"If he continues acting like a lovesick idiot I think _I'll_ be sick." Blaise mumbled.

"Just don't do it on my carpet." Draco said cheerily, and Pansy's face threatened to break open wider she was smiling so much.

"I cannot believe it turned out to be Harry _Potter_ of _all_ people!" Blaise groaned, looking up at Draco for a moment. That turned out to be the wrong plan, because Draco caught his eyes in his and held Blaise's gaze. His eyes had suddenly turned threatening and cold, and Pansy's smile disappeared just as fast as it had appeared.

"Are you threatening my mate?" Draco growled, walking towards Blaise, hearing the exasperation in his voice and seeing it as a threat against his mate. No one was allowed to threaten his mate. No one.

"No! No, Draco, of course not. You know that I think Potter's awesome." Blaise stood up and walked backwards, his hands extended in front of him, protecting him against the Veela.

"_You_ think that _my_ mate is awesome?" Draco asked, seeing all of Blaise's words as a threat to his mate.

Almost as if someone was reading Blaise's panicked expression and hearing his silent prayers for help, someone knocked at the door. It was tentative and quiet, but Draco's head snapped to it, forgetting all about Blaise in his haste to open it. As it flew open, banging against the wall behind it, Harry Potter was revealed.

Pansy looked on in interest. She had never seen a newly bonded Veela couple and was fascinated to see how Draco and Potter would work. Priding herself in knowing all of Hogwarts' gossip, Pansy had known of Potter's seclusion in the library and his apathy throughout the term. She had beat herself up when Draco had hesitantly told them who his mate was two days earlier, the day after he had met Potter in the library.

* * *

"_Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle. How nice to see you." Draco said, smiling widely at them all.  
_

_Pansy and Blaise exchanged looks. This was too cheerful for a Veela dying for their mate. The thought that Draco could finally be going insane crossed their minds and their eyes snapped to said Veela, looking for any signs of madness. Oddly, they couldn't see any. His eyes were sparkling, not their usual dull grey, and his hair looked washed and clean for once. In fact, Draco looked like he was in peak health._

"_Great to see you too…" Pansy let her voice trail away curiously. Draco smirked in his familiar way at them and her mind grasped towards a solution._

"_I'm sure you're all wondering if I'm finally insane."_

"_Why don't you enlighten us before I go to find Madame Pomfrey?" Blaise asked sarcastically._

"_I've found my mate," Draco whispered, and Pansy gasped. That was why he looked so healthy! Immediately her face broke into a wide smile and she had to put aside all of her morals and gave her friend a tight hug, pulling back almost at once. Draco pulled her back into the hug, smiling just as widely. "It's okay to hug me now, Pans." Draco used their childhood nickname and Pansy smiled fondly. "My mate's made it all okay. I'm so happy. Oh, Merlin, if you only knew how amazing it feels to finally be whole!"_

_Blaise was smiling despite himself and Crabbe and Goyle were grinning goofily, obviously happy that Draco was back on track. However, there was one question Pansy knew they all wanted answering._

"_Who is the lucky man, then?" she asked, and then saw Draco's face drop._

"_I will always stand by my mate, just so you know that, Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle, but I will feel terrible if you can' t accept him."_

"_It's not Zacharias Smith, is it?" Blaise asked in horror, his eyes widening. "What he wore that other day was worthy of murder! If it's Smith, I'm sorry but I won't be able to help you on this one."_

"_No, don't worry. I doubt my Veela would have chosen someone so unworthy." Draco sniffed, before smiling widely again. He couldn't seem to hold his joy in and it made Pansy happy. Anyone who did this to Draco was worthy of their acceptance. It was like her friend had had all his limbs returned to him and she vowed not to judge her friend's choice. Slytherins stuck together, after all._

"_Spill, then. No one could possibly be as bad as Smith."_

"_It's Harry Potter."_

* * *

Draco was an idiot to think that they wouldn't support him. Of course Blaise was disgruntled that Potter was taken –he wasn't exactly ugly, that Gryffindor and all Crabbe and Goyle wanted to know is who they would protect Draco against if it wasn't the Gryffindor and his friends. That had been taken the wrong way at first, until Pansy and Blaise had explained in a painstakingly slow fashion that all Crabbe and Goyle had meant was that they had to have someone to protect Draco against now that it wouldn't be Potter who they had protected Draco against before it turned out that he was his mate.

Drawing away from her musings, Pansy turned to see Draco greeting Harry. It was so painfully shy that she had to turn around to hide her mirth. She could see Blaise looking on stoically, his mouth turned down respectfully, but his shoulders were shaking.

"Hey, Harry," Draco was saying, his hand extended towards his mate. Pansy could see him vibrating on the spot, dying to be closer to Potter but holding himself back in order that Potter wasn't uncomfortable.

"Hi." Potter looked around at the company in the office, tilting his head to acknowledge Pansy and Blaise. Both looked back steadily at Potter until a twitch from Draco had them making their excuses and leaving.

Pansy's only regret was that she hadn't put a charm on the door to hear what they were saying to each other. She would bet good money that it would be an incredibly awkward conversation.

* * *

He smelt heavenly. Draco tried not to lean forwards into Harry and instead led him further into his office. On a primal level, his Veela was purring possessively inside him at having his mate deep in his territory, soaking up his scent. Helping Harry to sit down on the sofa, he sat across from him on the other sofa even though he was yearning to sit next to him.

"Erm," his mate said softly, looking so out of place and uncomfortable that all of Draco's instincts roared to the surface. He couldn't let his mate be uncomfortable in his space. This space was now Harry's as well as his and Draco's mission was to make him realise this.

"How are you doing?" Draco asked softly, feeling that teasing his mate about his eloquence could come later in their relationship.

"It's weird." Harry murmured, looking at his hands. There was a long pause. "I mean, it feels better. I don't know!" Harry looked frustrated and it was all Draco could do not to pull him into his arms. Instead, he leant forwards to listen to what his mate was saying. "I felt alone, and like no one bothered or cared with me. Now I feel that people _are_ bothered and that they do care. I'm sort of happy. It's weird."

Draco smiled even wider and tilted his head to the side to observe Harry, who was picking at his fingernails nervously. There was a beat and then Draco took a risk and placed his hand on tops of Harry's. Immediately, the tension in Draco's shoulders seeped out, and he never wanted to let go of Harry.

"Calm down, I won't hurt you." He shivered at the thought. "I wouldn't even think of hurting you."

"You just did." Harry smiled teasingly and Draco grinned in reply, his heart fluttering in his chest –his mate was teasing him! It was the most glorious feeling that Harry was comfortable enough to do so. His hopes were dashed at Harry's next words, though. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that, it just came out."

"I don't mind." Draco rubbed his thumb across Harry's hand. "What can I do to make you more comfortable?" he mused.

"It's difficult to put behind us all the taunts and jeers from over the years." Harry sighed sadly, and pulled his hands away. Draco almost whimpered at the loss of contact, but felt that it probably wouldn't help Harry to hear him do so. "Well, at least it is for me."

Draco sighed, matching Harry and looked around his room, trying to find something that could help him. He caught sight of his Veela book and stood up, striding towards it and pulling it down. He could feel Harry's curious gaze behind him as he flicked through the pages, looking for the page on Veela wings.

"Here!" Draco cried out triumphantly, walking back to Harry and kneeling on his knees beside his mate. Harry took the book from Draco's hands and stroked the pages reverently, aware that he was holding an old book.

"How old is this book?"

Draco shrugged elegantly unaware of the answer even though his Veela was urging him to satisfy his mate and make him comfortable by telling him the answer.

"Old." Draco touched the page. "Read it."

Harry turned, looking with interest at the page titled _Veela Wings_.

_Not much is known about Veela wings, as they are often kept hidden. What Veela we, as the authors, have managed to talk to have told us this about their wings:_

_Veela wings are extremely private. They are, in fact, the most private part of the Veela's anatomy and solely for their mate to see. They feel as if they have betrayed their mate, whether or not they have met their mate, if they reveal their wings to anyone other than their mate. In dire or serious circumstances, the soft feathers of the wings will harden into scales that can block out any hex or jinx aimed at their mate. They will only harden into scales for their mate. _

_The Veela wings are usually pure white but if the Veela has betrayed their mate or been rejected by their mate, they will darken to a black before the Veela dies, in the case of being rejected –in the case of betrayal, they will remain black for the rest of their lives unless the Veela is forgiven by their mate. _

_Veela wings can make the Veela's mate relax or make them feel cherished and protected by wrapping around their mate. This also helps the Veela relax, as to hold their mate close to them and have them encased in their wings makes them feel secure and calm and that they have succeeded in protecting their mate._

_If a Veela's mate touches their wings, it can have certain effects. If the Veela is angry, the wings can usually burst out of their back. If the mate touches them, the Veela will relax and be able to retract the wings –if their mate so wishes it. If the Veela feel aroused, touching the wings can be a source of further arousal._

_The Veela's mate is very privileged to be allowed to see and touch these wings mostly unknown to society._

Harry paused at the end of the chapter and read through it again. What was Draco, who was kneeling beside him patiently, trying to tell him? A stray phrase came to mind.

* * *

"_You can touch them, you know. They were made for you."_

* * *

Did that mean that Draco was perfectly tailored to him, just as he was perfectly tailored to Draco? Harry shook his head and looked back at the page in front of him. Could he just give in? Could he accept that he was no longer alone?

"Why do you want me as your mate? Why me, and not someone else?" the words had tumbled out of Harry's mouth without his permission and he clamped his hand over his mouth, looking anxiously at the Veela beside him. Said Veela lifted himself up, gently pried Harry's hand away from his mouth and smiled. It was so unlike the Draco Malfoy Harry knew that he suddenly wanted to know _this_ Draco Malfoy, the Draco Malfoy known to his Slytherin friends.

"I don't want you hiding your questions from me. That's what's going to help us move forwards." Draco stood up, letting Harry's hand drop onto the still open page. "Can I sit next to you?" he asked and Harry obligingly shuffled to the side. Draco sat down beside Harry, though he kept a margin of space between them that Harry was thankful for.

"Why did I choose you?" Draco hummed, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm Draco Malfoy. That, in itself, should be self-explanatory. But as you don't know me very well, I'll enlighten you. I like the best and I have always had the best. When I first met you, we didn't hit off. It was the first time that I had thought of someone apart from my parents and myself. I asked myself why you had done that and then I asked myself what I could improve so that you _could_ like me. I should have seen the signs there: I was constantly looking out for you in the corridors, trying to make you feel ashamed of what you'd done by refusing me, but in reality my subconscious knew that you were the _perfect_ person to counter all my selfishness. I was spoilt and I'm guessing you weren't, though I had many doubts about whether or not you were. You're one of the most selfless people I've ever met and I'm probably one of the most selfish. We match Harry, and my Veela knew this before either of us _ever_ did. Now it's time for us to look further and get to know each other the way my subconscious already knows you."

Harry took a tentative shuffle in Draco's direction, so that their legs were touching, all the way down to their feet. He felt Draco's arm move to lie around his shoulders and he found it strangely comforting. Feeling tired after Draco's monologue, he tried putting his head on Draco's shoulder and felt a vibration run down Draco and the sound of rustling feathers. Jumping up, he saw Draco's large wings fanned out behind him and similar to their meeting in the library, Harry extended his hand to touch them.

This time he didn't stop.

* * *

_A/N: Loved it? Hated it? Something to say about it? Do let me know._


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Eight

As morning broke over the imposing edifice that was Malfoy Manor, the rising sun framed a small shape beating its wings firmly as it approached the Manor. It clutched in its talons the all-important letter destined for Draco's parents, destined to change the course of Malfoy history for eternity.

As the owl flew steadily towards the Manor, Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy were still lying in bed, both of them awake but with no desire to leave their room. Narcissa was lying on her back with her head on Lucius' chest, her platinum blonde hair occasionally streaked with black strands played across his chest and Lucius was toying with a few of the longer strands, alternatively curling them around his finger or wrapping them around his palm. They were both talking about their son.

"I don't know what to do, Luce. I feel so _helpless_." Narcissa was saying, her head drawn into a frown. Lucius whimpered and leant forwards to kiss Narcissa's forehead.

"I wish I could do something, _anything_ to make both of you feel better. We can't do anything, save line up all of Hogwarts in front of Draco and let him sniff out his mate." Lucius sighed in defeat, moving his hands down from Narcissa's hair and wrapping them around her waist. She took a deep breath and let it all out in one rush of air, and turned over in Lucius' arms, her head facing his chest and she muffled a sob. "Oh Cissa, don't cry!" Lucius rushed to comfort his wife and mate, sitting up and letting his large wings out in a rush of feathers, wrapping them around his wife. He could feel her breathing even out after a while and he repeatedly kissed the top of her head, letting her know that he was there.

"What would I do without you, Luce?" She murmured into his chest and her husband snorted.

"Be the icy Black you were before I tamed you, my love." He whispered into her hair. She giggled. "And I'd be the pining Veela, my life wiling away in front of my eyes."

Just as Narcissa lifted up her head to kiss Lucius, the owl arrived and started tapping frantically at their window. Both of their heads whirled around and Lucius raced out of bed, wrapping his silk robe around him before he opened the window. Narcissa was anxiously tapping the bed beside her and gasped when she recognised Draco's owl. Her heart started beating irregularly –what had happened to her son now– and she rushed out of bed, wrapping her robe around her, following her husband's example. He was untying the letter from the owl's feet and she could see his hands shaking. Placing her hands on top of his, they untied the letter together and watched as the owl flew out and to the Malfoy Owlery, waiting for their reply to their son's letter.

Lucius walked over to one of the armchairs in the room and sank into it, pulling Narcissa onto his lap. They stared at the envelope for a short moment before Lucius started tearing it open and dropping the shreds of paper to the floor. They were faced with the expensive writing paper Draco always used, folded neatly in half. Feeling something similar to hope bubble in her chest, Narcissa grabbed Lucius' hand.

"Do you think –do you think that he's –that he's found him? Draco _folded_ the paper _neatly_. That's more than he's done for any other of his letters this term." Narcissa voiced their thoughts aloud and snatched the letter from Lucius' hands. He watched as she unfolded it and her eyes ran across the small, elegant script written in perfect straight lines across the page. He felt her relax against him, her head falling against his shoulder and her breaths coming out slow and evenly. He gently took the letter from her and read it himself, letting out a huge breath with all of his pent-up anxiety contained in it. His son was safe. They glanced at each other and their mouths met in the middle, crashing into each other frantically with their relief. For a long time neither surfaced for breath, their teeth nipping and nibbling at each other's lips in the rush of adrenaline following their son's letter. When they surfaced, it was to look thankfully into each other's eyes.

"Who do you think deserved Draco?" Narcissa asked.

"_Deserved_ Draco? My love, I think it's more who did Draco deserve!" Lucius teased. "Merlin, I'm so relieved. When do you think we should go to Hogwarts? I don't think that I can wait too long to find out."

"Wait until the weekend. Why don't we invite them out here? I'm sure that Draco would be delighted to bring his mate here. I know how eager and possessive you Veela get."

Lucius snorted.

"Draco's already eager and possessive. He's probably _dying_ to get his mate out here."

* * *

After Harry had touched his wings the day before, conversation had flowed much more smoothly. Draco found himself smiling more than he ever had in his life and his laughter was not sarcastic but genuine and he loved the rush of feelings it brought. The next day had been unbearably slow, a long, endless wait for his mate to finish his classes –Draco finished an hour earlier than Harry on Thursdays. He had realised this soon into his hour, having rushed to Pansy who had the same timetable as he did and asked after Harry's timetable. Pansy had been painfully slow in procuring one for him and Draco had groaned when he had seen his mate's timetable. They finished at different times almost _every day_. And then they'd only have a few hours together in the evening before Harry would have to return to his dorm. With nothing but determination in his mind, Draco stormed to his study to work out a way to get a private room in Hogwarts.

Harry had spent the day thinking about Draco. Ron and Hermione had been glancing at him on and off all day and Harry knew he'd have to tell them soon, but he didn't want to. Talking with Draco yesterday had been _amazing_. He didn't know he could laugh or smile that much –and Draco was interesting to talk to, to boot. He had never known that Draco –there was no doubt in his mind that Draco was totally different from Malfoy and that he could only call Draco Draco and nothing else –could be so fascinating and so attentive. Gone were the insults, the jibes, the spoilt brat Harry had known, and there was someone Harry felt he could listen to and who would listen to him. Draco had teased him as the evening had worn on, but Harry had never felt stifled, not once. The conversation had flowed, their words wrapping around each other's and never halting or stilting or stopping once. Draco had kept his wings out and Harry would find himself touching them unconsciously now and then and it was a wonderful feeling. Knowing that they were out for _him_ gave him such a sense of power and understanding that he had to show whoever was out there that he deserved that in-built trust Veela had in their mates.

Therefore, to say that Harry was itching to see Draco again was a huge understatement. As soon as his last lesson ended, he had barely grabbed his books, said good evening to Hermione and Ron before he almost ran to Draco's study. Just as he had lifted his hand up to knock, Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini approached him. Both looked equally threatening and Harry backed away from Draco's door, his hand reaching for his wand.

"Potter. Just the person we were about to go looking for." Parkinson said with a sickly sweet smile.

"What do you want, Parkinson? Zabini?" he asked, standing tall in front of the two Slytherins.

"As you know, Potter, we're Draco's _friends_. We have been for years." Zabini whispered silkily, and Harry tried hard not to swallow too loudly or too obviously. "We have a vested interest in taking care of Draco."

"Well that means we're on the same boat." Harry shot back unconsciously, his brain-to-mouth filter not working too well as it did when he started to feel trapped.

"That's wonderful!" Parkinson clapped her hands in a way she managed to make look threatening. "But if you dare, _dare_ to hurt him, _wound_ him in _any_ way, we will _kill_ you. Do you understand?"

"I understand perfectly. You might have to fight me and my conscience before you have a go, though." Harry replied and then stepped around them. "If you don't mind, I'd rather like to see Draco now."

They watched as his hand went up to knock three times at Draco's door. They heard the exasperation in his voice come through the door.

"If it's not Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe or Goyle you can leave." Harry sighed and knocked loudly again. "I said, go away if you're not one of them!"

Behind him, Parkinson sniggered, followed by Zabini. Harry knocked again.

"What do you want?" Draco asked, pulling open the door only to be faced with his mate. His look of exasperation disappeared almost at once and he started murmuring apologies, much to Parkinson and Zabini's amusement, if their sniggering was anything to go by.

"Do you want me to come in or not?" Harry asked, smiling despite himself.

"Of course!" Draco cried out. "Sorry, I thought I had a lot longer to go before I saw you." He looked up. "Blaise, Pansy! Do come in." He looked from Harry to Parkinson and Zabini. "I hope that you two haven't done anything you'd regret."

They pushed past Harry into the cozy study, smiling and shaking their heads. Draco took Harry's hand and slowly led him into the study; setting him down on the same sofa they had been on yesterday before sitting down beside him.

"What do you two want? If it's about Richard Durocher, I told you that I'd be speaking to him tomorrow."

* * *

Pansy had wanted to see them together. If she'd told Draco that, she knew that he would have gone insanely possessive, their bond was so new, but by using Richard as an excuse she knew that she could get away with it.

What she saw almost immediately upon entering was that Draco had waited for Potter. He hadn't followed them in after they'd rudely –she would admit that much –pushed past the Gryffindor. She wanted Potter to realise that Draco came above everything to them and they weren't going to let them take their place as his friends. When they had sat down, Pansy had seen that the way Draco stood beside Potter –protectively, slightly in front of him and tall and proud could say more than any words could. Draco was smitten to the highest degree and he didn't know it yet.

"Blaise and I knew that, but we wanted to give him the preliminary interview we talked about at the Feast. To size him up for you, if you must know and we needed to know what questions to ask him."

Draco paused; tilting his head to the side in his very familiar mannerism he had when he was deep in thought about something.

"Harry." He said, and Pansy exchanged an anxious glance with Blaise. They didn't want a Gryffindor getting involved in Slytherin politics. Potter seemed to realise this, and tapped Draco's knee with his hand. The gesture spoke of a familiarity between Potter and Draco she hadn't registered before and she leant forwards to see what he would say.

"If it's to do with Slytherin politics, I think that it would be best not to involve me. I don't think that Parkinson or Zabini are remotely interested in what I want to say." He looked directly at her, and she was surprised at the fierceness of his gaze. "Though I would say that the best question to ask someone you're interviewing is what their favourite spell is. A spell can tell you a lot about someone. For example, if I said that my favourite spell was, say, _Aguamenti_, you'd think that I was a bit weak, wouldn't you?" Despite her misgivings, Pansy was nodding and so was Blaise, she could see. "But I'll shut up now. You Slytherins are supposed to be able to analyse deeply into what someone's saying, so I'll leave you to your interviews."

Pansy was impressed and she could see that Blaise was as well. Potter had successfully done both what Draco had wanted him to do –give advice– and what she and Blaise had wanted him to do –not get involved. Potter stood up and grabbed his bag. Pansy watched as Draco stood up at once, grabbing onto Potter's arm. She saw Potter start a bit but then relax as Draco walked closer to him. Her friend whispered some words into Potter's ear too quietly for her to hear anything and Potter nodded. He went over to Draco's desk, unpacked some of his books and started reading through them.

"He won't listen to a word of what we're saying." Draco said, sitting down comfortably again, shooting a glance over to his mate. She could see the tension in Draco's shoulders and felt a bit bad for taking up his time when she and Blaise both knew that he should be bonding.

"How can you be sure?" Blaise asked. Draco raised an eyebrow and looked at them both.

"You can either trust me or you can leave. I'm pretty sure that you're only here to see how we interact together. For the record, this is the start of our bond; you've got ages to go to see us interact together. It's not like you're stupid and you can't come up with questions by yourselves. So spill." Draco leant back in his seat, crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. He looked so aloof that Pansy burst out laughing.

"Okay, you saw through us. Blaise, let's go." She dragged Blaise away and suddenly paused at the door, looking over at Potter who was now underlining some sentences in the book. "Potter." He looked up, his eyes carefully shielded and she felt a bit sorry for him. "I'm Pansy and this is Blaise. Good question you had back there."

Potter nodded, his mouth quirking into a half-smile.

"I'm Harry. Thanks." With that, he went back to his book and Pansy closed the door behind her.

She was satisfied Harry wouldn't do anything to Draco. She wasn't so sure about what Draco would do to Harry.

* * *

"Thank Merlin they're gone!" Draco stretched himself out on the sofa, throwing his outer robe to the ground. "I was getting all itchy."

"Itchy?" Harry asked with a smile, putting aside his quill and ruler and walking over to Draco. "What do you mean by 'itchy'?"

"I just…would it be okay if I let out my wings?" Draco asked. When Harry didn't reply, he rushed out, "I mean, not if you don't want to, it's just that you're here, in my study and the bond is new and I had them out yesterday with you and…" Draco trailed off when he saw Harry's hand lifted up.

"It's okay." He chuckled. "I've never seen Draco Malfoy so ruffled."

Draco smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know why, but I'm just _comfortable _with you, you know?" Draco stood up. "My Veela is telling me that it's okay to relax with you, you're not going to do anything."

Harry swallowed and nodded, his eyes suddenly tearing up. Draco noticed and the teasing mood was gone, his wings burst out of his back and he took a step forwards, closer to Harry.

"Can I hug you?" he asked, though his dearest wish was to be able to do so without asking his mate, who nodded at the question.

Draco gently twined his arms around Harry's waist, pulling him closer and tucking his head onto his shoulder. His wings wrapped themselves tightly around Harry, covering his body and pushing him closer to Draco. Harry started to relax, which then made him start to cry quietly on his shoulder. Draco started rubbing his hand in comforting circles on Harry back as he slowly made them sink to the floor, his wings being pushed up so they rose above him and Harry like a protecting white wall of feathers.

"Shh…" Draco murmured, bringing his hand up to stroke Harry's hair. "Hey, shh."

Soon Harry's sobs trailed off and he eventually pulled away, rubbing his eyes.

"Sorry." He shook his head. "Pent-up emotions."

"Hey, don't apologise to me." Draco moved Harry's hands away and wiped the tears away. "I'm here to see you in your best and worst moments and to help you. That's what loving unconditionally is all about."

"It's just…" Harry took a deep breath. "No one's ever loved me unconditionally before."

"Well, it's time someone did, isn't it?"

As Draco pulled Harry back into his embrace, Harry let all his walls crumble to the ground. Who was he kidding?

He was safe with Draco.

* * *

_A/N: Short and fluffy. Do you have anything to say about it? Please tell me!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Nine

They stood there, together, for a while, Harry's soft sobs subsiding into tiny hiccups. Draco never stopped hugging him and though his wings occasionally fluttered around them, it was always to move further around Harry and to protect him from everything that could hurt him.

Harry found that he rather liked the dark of Draco's wings. It wasn't the oppressive darkness of his cupboard at the Dursleys, nor was it the stifling darkness of his nightmares but a gentle darkness that made all the sounds around them, except for Draco's steady heartbeat, to fade into nothing. It was a cocoon of safety and Harry had never felt anything like it before. He pushed himself closer to Draco, whose arms responded to his movements by squeezing him reassuringly before letting go and becoming a more comfortable, dependable weight around his waist.

Slowly, Harry started pulling away, and watched as Draco moved his wings away from him to let the light filter back into Harry's vision.

"No," Harry whispered, not wanting to break the silence.

"What? Are you okay?" Draco moved closer again, his wings now extended behind him and beating the air, sending air currents towards Harry, who smiled wryly.

"No, I liked your wings. Can…Can…" Harry took a deep breath, but Draco was seconds ahead of him, rushing to wrap them around him again. Harry breathed out and laid his head on Draco's chest and loving the steady heartbeat. Was this what it meant to be loved unconditionally? To be able to lean his head and forget everything and know that the other person would take care of it?

If it was, he was most definitely grabbing it with both hands and working out how to do it in return.

* * *

Hermione was on a mission. She wasn't quite sure what she would do once she had reached her destination, but she was sure that she was going to reach it. She walked steadily to Malfoy's office and opened the door –she, as far as she knew, was the only person allowed to do that because she was his female counterpart as Head Girl. Later on, she would blame it all on Malfoy. He hadn't put his normal sign on the door telling her that she couldn't come in.

As she walked in, she caught sight of Malfoy with his rather large wings wrapped around something, and his head leaning down, looking tenderly at whatever was in his wings, before he snapped around.

Suddenly the door behind her slammed with furious power and Malfoy looked immensely threatening. His wings looked huge, spread out behind him, and his canines seemed to have gained a few inches. When he started growling and prowling towards her, Hermione grabbed her wand and pointed it towards him.

"I will hex you if you come any closer." She murmured, proud that her voice was steady but not sure if Malfoy had heard her. When he kept moving forwards her, she thought that he probably had not and started feeling quite scared. He was certainly a lot more terrifying than many things Hermione had seen in her lifetime. She was also unsure as to whether or not spells worked on Veela.

Veela! The thought struck her with the force of a truck and she could have slapped herself for her stupidity. With great difficulty, Hermione put her wand back into her robes and lifted her hands in a gesture of surrender. Malfoy halted.

"I mean you and your mate no harm, I promise." She even bowed her head, losing sight of the predator, something she had never done in her entire life. She heard a rustling behind Malfoy and looked up again.

"Hermione?" it was Harry's voice and she had never felt so thankful in her life to hear it. She saw him come around Malfoy, his eyes suspiciously red but looking rather amused with the situation. "Hey there." He smiled sheepishly and made to move towards her.

Malfoy growled. Harry turned back to him and placed a hand on Malfoy's chest. Hermione's breath left her.

"It's okay. I'm her friend." Harry's hand went up to Malfoy's hair and Hermione was compelled to watch as it stroked the platinum blond strands. She saw Malfoy lean into Harry's hand, his eyes moving from her to Harry, and his arm moving to wrap around Harry's waist. "Relax, Draco." She watched as Malfoy shook himself and his wings folded in on themselves and then seemed to be sucked back into Malfoy's skin with no preceding sound or other warning. His hand left Harry's waist and Harry's hand dropped from his hair and they turned around to look at Hermione.

"Whoops." Harry murmured.

"Exactly describes the situation, Harry. What have you to say for yourself? Why didn't you tell us?" Hermione asked, advancing on Harry. She saw Malfoy out of the corner of her eye and almost at once she was being pinned to the door.

"Don't you dare talk to my mate like that." Malfoy hissed, his eyes narrowing. She saw Harry sigh and move back to Draco to pull him away from her.

"Draco! She is my _friend_ and as such she can take some liberties with what she says to me." Harry said to the annoyed Veela. Malfoy rolled his eyes and turned back to Hermione, who was massaging her collar.

"I apologise, Granger." He said, sounding like a petulant child. Harry grinned beside Malfoy and Hermione softened. She hadn't seen Harry smile like that for a very long time. "But I'm only apologising because Harry told me to."

"Draco." Hermione had to refrain herself from laughing at Harry's disappointed tone of voice.

"What did I say?" Malfoy held up his hands in surrender. "I apologised because you asked me to, didn't I? She was insulting you and I reacted and then you went all noble on us and decided to make me apologise. I'm not going to apologise for defending your honour, Harry." The rant had started off teasing, but Hermione saw how it became tender, almost loving and how Malfoy turned to look at Harry fully as he kept talking. His hands, previously lying by his side, were now snaking towards Harry's hands and soon were clutching them.

"Thanks. That means a lot to me." Harry almost whispered, looking straight at Malfoy. His whole body language seemed to be geared towards whatever the Veela was doing, and Hermione wished that Ron was here. This would most definitely put a blank on any doubts the redhead had previously had about Harry being Malfoy's mate.

"Hm." Hermione had to make her presence known again before they decided to go all lovey-dovey on her –no matter how new their relationship was, Hermione could tell that they had both been so desperate for this sort of love that they weren't going to be holding off long. They started, and turned to look anxiously at her.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you or Ron. It's just…" Harry turned back to Malfoy with a smile. "…I've never felt so…so…alive."

"And that's all Ron and I want for you." She turned to look at Malfoy in the eye. "Just so you know, I came here to tell you that I knew about you and Harry being mates because I'm clever that way and that if you dare do anything to Harry that'll injure him in any way you can be sure that you will never see the light of day again!" Hermione said in a breath, pausing infinitesimally before turning back to Harry and smiling widely. "Don't forget that Ron and I are still there for you."

And with that, she turned around, pausing just before she left the room.

"By the way, I'd let the owl pecking at your window in. He seems to have been at it for a while."

* * *

After a short stunned silence, Draco recovered his senses enough to open the window and let the disgruntled owl in. With shaking hands he detached the letter from his parents' owl and opened it slowly. He could feel Harry hovering behind him, unsure of whether or not to come closer to Draco. Even though he was desperate to see what his parents' reply was, he also wanted to make Harry comfortable.

"Hey, come closer. I won't bite." Draco smiled at his mate and was delighted to see him smile back tentatively. He put out an arm and Harry gently slotted into his side.

Safe. Protected. Draco's Veela sniffed the air to make sure that they were alone before purring contentedly. He was doing well. His mate was relaxed and where he belonged. Therefore, Draco turned back to the letter.

_Dearest Dragon,_

_You have no idea how delighted this news makes us. We would love to meet your loved and chosen one in person and wish to extend an invitation to him to come to the Manor this weekend. We will both be supportive of your choice and the weekend will be a very private one, neither of our business associates will be coming to the Manor._

_Love from,_

_Father and Mother_

Draco breathed a huge sigh of relief as he finished the letter –firstly because his parents were happy and relived, secondly because none of his parents' _dubious _associates would be coming to see them that weekend. He turned to look at Harry, who was staring at the letter with a look of shock and surprise on his face.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked immediately, dropping the letter to the floor and turning to the more important person in his arms.

"Your parents sound…they sound so _happy_. What'll happen when they find out who I am?" Harry snorted. "I mean, I'm Harry bloody James bloody Potter and your Dad's Lucius Malfoy, ex-Death Eater. Do you know what will happen if your father declares allegiance to the Light? You _know_ where he stands with Voldemort. He's one of his right-hand men. He could be _killed_."

Draco had to turn away from his mate then. The spike in his chest from Harry's words had not been unexpected but had been uncomfortable and had brought all of the anxieties and worries about his father to his mind. He knew that Lucius and Narcissa would support him above Lord Voldemort, but what would happen to them for making that sacrifice? He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and a thumb rubbing circles into his skin.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to say something like that. I'm just worried. I don't know much about Malfoy beyond the fact that he was there when my godfather was killed." Harry sounded angry and bitter and Draco felt him tense and then relax. "But the letter makes him sound like a completely different person. If it doesn't put your parents in obvious danger, then I would be delighted to accept the invitation to go to your Manor for the weekend."

Draco could have kissed him.

* * *

Sleeping had been difficult that night. Harry wasn't sure if it was the new bond or if it was how nervous he was about the weekend. He had told Hermione what was happening and told her to invent and excuse to give Ron. She had raised an eyebrow, and he had mentioned that he wouldn't have told her about him and Malfoy until Monday morning anyway but she had walked in on them and that had ruined his plans.

Therefore, when Harry woke up that morning and saw the small suitcase he had packed the night before beside his bed, all he felt was deep dread. He had accepted the invitation to make Draco happy –and he was glad that Draco way happy– but facing Lucius Malfoy after the incident in the Department of Mysteries was not something he wanted to be doing. Especially as Lucius Malfoy seemed to not be aware of whom he was.

After breakfast, Harry made his way to Draco's study, dragging his feet slightly but eager to see the blond even though to see the blond meant to be going to Malfoy Manor. When he reached Draco's office and lifted his hand up to knock, he paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath before bringing down his hand to knock at the door with ringing finality.

"Harry!" Draco pulled open the door and ushered Harry in, his face so open, so happy to see him that Harry forgot his fears and anxieties for a moment and let himself be pulled into Draco's embrace. "How are you? Did you sleep well?"

Harry's foot fumbled for the door and shut it, all the while remaining in Draco's embrace.

"A bit nervous." Harry admitted.

Draco pulled back and pushed a strand of Harry's hair behind his ear. The gesture was so gentle, so _intimate_, that Harry melted and brought his hand up to put a strand of Draco's hair behind his ear. They paused, a pair of green eyes staring into a pair of grey-blue eyes and the moment felt infinite.

"I can't believe you're my mate." Draco murmured, before leaning forwards and touching his lips to Harry's.

The kiss was soft; it was gentle. Draco's hands fell from Harry's hair and twined themselves around his waist, pulling Harry closer, tightly against him and leaning forwards. Harry's hands wrapped themselves around his neck and he kissed back strongly despite his inexperience. Draco replied, his lips sliding perfectly over Harry's and his Veela rushed to the forefront of his mind, guiding him, making him lead the kiss and help him please his mate. Slowly they pulled away from each other and leant their forwards against each other's, both breathing heavily.

"I didn't know kissing could be like that." Harry whispered.

"Like what?" Draco asked, equally quiet.

"Like it really _meant_ something."

"It does. It means a lot."

Soon, they pulled apart and Harry picked up his suitcase again, smiling at Draco as he did so. Draco picked up his own case and strode over to Harry, wrapping his arm around his waist, smiling as well.

"Shall we confront my parents?"

Harry took a deep breath.

"Might as well."

* * *

_A/N: Next chapter will be the weekend with the Malfoys. Do tell me what you thought, I always love hearing from you._


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N:__ In an unusual author's note for __Always__, I would like to thank the amazing __**guest reviewers**__ I cannot reply to. Your reviews mean a lot to me. Thank you very, very much._

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Ten

Draco landed in the familiar receiving room of Malfoy Manor first and did not even glance at his parents or the bags that had arrived before them, but instead waited, his hands trembling, for his mate to come through the grate.

It was an ornate, beautiful fireplace made of the finest marble intricately carved with the Malfoy Crest and Motto. On the mantelpiece were photographs taken by professional photographers. No visitor into Malfoy Manor would see the Malfoy Family uninhibited –there was always a mask. The real photographs were upstairs, in the private rooms. A large painting of the Manor, priceless in its value, stood imposingly behind the photographs.

The fire flared to life again and Draco hid a smirk of amusement when his mate tumbled inelegantly through the gate and into his waiting arms. Still hiding Harry from his parents, he brushed him down and kissed his forehead. Giving each other reassuring smiles, they turned to look at Lord and Lady Malfoy, the former who gave a sudden start at seeing Harry Potter in his house.

"Mr. Potter."

"Lord Malfoy."

Both men looked at each other for what seemed like forever, before Lucius turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.

The rejection of his mate stung. It hurt Draco deep inside him and he was almost about to storm out in anger before a sudden thought struck him: what about Harry? He must be feeling terrible. Draco turned away from his mother to look at Harry, whose mouth was pursed into a thin line and who was looking at him anxiously. Draco felt a warm feeling spread through him when he realised that his mate was worried for _him_, even though it had been _his_ father at the Department of Mysteries in their fifth year.

"Mr. Potter, if I may have the pleasure to make your acquaintance." Draco turned around again to look at his mother, who looked serene but he could tell by the tiny crease in her forehead that she was not impressed by her husband's behaviour.

"Lady Malfoy." Harry stepped forwards and took her hand and kissed it softly. Draco was surprised that Harry knew that subtle pureblood mannerism and he could tell that his mother was impressed. "I do not believe that I have had the delight of meeting you before."

"No, I have not either. I am truly overjoyed that Draco has found his mate."

Draco breathed a soft sigh of relief –his mother accepted his mate.

* * *

Harry knew that seeing Lucius Malfoy in the flesh would be difficult after Sirius' death. He hadn't anticipated just _how_ difficult it had been, and it was only exacerbated after Lord Malfoy's sudden departure from the room. It hurt him hard to think that Lord Malfoy could not accept him as Draco's mate, as the one who was supposed to be loved and cherished by his son for the rest of their lives. It made him angry, it made him want to go after Lord Malfoy and kick him. He had seen Draco's face fall and then had watched him turn around to see if he, Harry, was alright, when it should have been him asking Draco if _he _was alright. He was already getting a headache and the weekend wasn't even in full swing yet.

However, Narcissa Malfoy was a breath of fresh air. She was sweet and kind and heartbreakingly polite and Harry could see how Draco had some ounce of compassion and selflessness in him despite him being hopelessly spoilt –his mother was a sparkling example of it.

"Mr. Potter, I've put you into the room right next to Draco's normal bedroom. There's an adjoining door we had put in when we knew that Draco would be a Veela so you'll both be able to see each other. Draco, if you would bring Mr. Potter to the room and then we can adjourn for dinner in about an hour." Lady Malfoy, while saying this, had clapped her hands imperiously and Harry watched as their bags disappeared, most likely taken by house-elves.

Draco seemed to shake himself out of some torpor and grabbed Harry's hand and Harry could only nod at Lady Malfoy before he was dragged away on a grand tour of the Manor.

* * *

"Lucius!" Narcissa stormed into his study angrily. She had never felt this angry –not since Lucius lost Draco in Diagon Alley when he was seven. Even then, she had been more worried than angry. This time she was furious.

Her husband was leaning against the windowsill, his knuckles white as he pressed them against the panes of glass. She could see that he was breathing heavily and her anger subsided a bit. He was terrified.

"Luce." She murmured, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Luce." She kissed the back of his neck and felt him shiver in response, some tension bleeding away from his body. "What's wrong?"

"I can't believe that his mate is Harry Potter. Of all people." Lucius whispered brokenly. "I knew I'd have to make a choice in my lifetime, Cissy, but I wasn't aware that the choice would be this life-changing, this life-affirming. You know that means that the Dark Lord is either going to ask me to disown Draco or to stop being his follower."

"You knew that there would be a very real possibility of Draco's mate being someone the Dark Lord did not approve of. But you _saw_ them together, Luce. You can't deny what you saw with your own eyes."

Narcissa remembered waiting with baited breath beside the fireplace, her hand clutching Lucius'. She had known just as much as her husband what was at stake; the main difference was that she was willing to give everything up for her son. Their life might be more dangerous, but at least her son, her family would be happy. Then when Draco had come through the fireplace, she had stepped forwards to embrace him, but he had ignored Lucius and her, instead turning back immediately to face the fireplace, blocking the view of who would come through from them.

She didn't think that she would ever forget her son's smile when Mr. Potter had stepped through the grate –or stumbled through, depending on your view of the situation. He had stepped forwards at once and taken him into his arms, kissing his forehead gently before finally turning around, beaming –only for his smile to fall off his face at his father's frosty reception of his mate.

"Luce, you _promised_ Draco that you'd accept his mate."

"I thought it would be someone else." Lucius whispered, his breath fogging up the glass.

"You can't make conditions like that. You love Draco, do you not?"

"How could you even doubt that, Cissy?" Lucius cried out, turning around and finally facing her. She grabbed his hands and squeezed them tightly.

"You're not showing me otherwise, Luce. I know you're living a good, stable life. I know you're happy to support the Dark Lord and support the Ministry and then you'll be fine either way. Isn't that cowardly, though? Maybe you _shouldn't_ follow Abraxas' path. Maybe you should forge your own, Luce." Narcissa leant her forehead against her husband's, remembering the insane shouts of her sister as she sunk farther and farther into the Dark Arts. She did not want to see her husband go that way.

Sensing her dark thoughts, as he always did –it had to be a Veela thing, Lucius pulled her to him and held her tightly in his arms.

"I'm sorry. I didn't even think. I know that your sister did some terrible things and will continue to do so. I'm being tactless, even contemplating the ease of my life over my family. Forgive me." Lucius kissed her temple and leant his head on top of hers, tucking her into his strong chest. Narcissa breathed out, feeling the safety she always did around her husband envelop her.

"You'll accept Mr. Potter, then?" she asked. There was a very long pause and she could almost feel his mind working, mulling over the many possibilities of an influential family like the Malfoys turning their backs on their Dark heritage and turning Light. Narcissa could almost feel Abraxas Malfoy turning over in his son's grave.

Her husband's hands tightened around her waist and Narcissa knew what his decision would be.

"I'll be honoured to." Lucius pulled away from her almost immediately after saying that and rummaged around in one of his many drawers, and with a flourish pulled out a very familiar mahogany and velvet box. Narcissa gasped and put her hand to her mouth, stepping forwards tentatively.

"You won't…"

"I need to show Draco that I won't turn on him." Lucius took a very deep breath. "That he can trust his father."

Narcissa nodded and went over to him, helping him to pull open the old box. Encased by the sea of rich purple velvet, the magnificent signet ring of the Malfoy Family heir's partner sat, proclaiming to the world in its' majestic glory that the wearer had the support and power of the Malfoy Family at his disposal.

"It's the pair to Draco's signet ring."

"It's the best way I can show him that I will accept Mr. Potter as the future husband and life partner of Draco. The future of the Malfoy Family will be in their hands."

* * *

Draco found that it was impossible to tear his eyes away from his mate's face as he showed him the wonders of his home. The ancient manor had never been anything but home to him and to see the amazement at the luxury Draco lived in on his mate's face made him want to show Harry that it could, and would, be his home as well.

Draco brought Harry into the cosy, family sitting room. There was a more homely feel to it –the cushions were plumper and the walls were covered in pictures of Draco, his friends, his parents and his grandparents with some occasional photographs of relatives. The fireplace was sparkling merrily and some books were lying around haphazardly or tripping over each other on the bookshelves lining the walls next to the fireplace.

Draco brought Harry to sit down on one of the sofas. His mate sat down carefully, as if scared of breaking anything and it made Draco long to see his mate lie down with his feet on the sofa one day. To be truly at home. Instead, he sat next to Harry and pulled him closer, loving their newfound intimacy and smiled as Harry sank into him, curling up closer and bringing his legs onto the sofa once he saw Draco do the same.

"How do you like Malfoy Manor?"

"I'm completely lost." Harry admitted. "It's huge."

Draco chuckled.

"Yeah, I can see how it would seem pretty huge to someone who hadn't lived here. Don't worry, you'll soon get used to it, I promise you."

Harry sighed against him.

"Not with the way your father reacted."

"It's understandable; you and him have some enmity to work through."

"It's difficult to forget seeing him there. Really difficult." Harry looked up from where he was leaning against Draco's shoulder to look him in the eye. "I can't ask you to choose between your father or me."

"Nor will you have to." Draco murmured, pulling Harry back to his side. "Nor will you have to. Mother will make him come around, don't you worry."

"Is the Black Family not quite dark?"

"If you look at Walburga Black or Aunt Bellatrix, then yes. If you look at your godfather Sirius or his cousin, my Aunt Andromeda, then no. It all depends on which walk of life they chose. And the Dark Lord truly believes in his cause. He believes that what he's doing is right. My father doesn't. He will choose what is right in the end, don't you worry."

The door opened slowly to reveal the topic of their conversation himself: Lucius Malfoy. Draco untangled himself from Harry and stood up, quickly followed by Harry. He could see his mate's hand tapping anxiously against his thigh and he sidled closer to Harry and held his hand in his own.

His father stood unsurely in the door and Draco could tell that he was nervous. Then before he could say anything Lucius stepped forwards, standing up straighter and stronger and walking further into the room until he was facing Harry. Draco watched their silent staring for a while, feeling their anger, their distrust of each other thick in the air before his father suddenly snapped and extended his hand.

"Mr. Potter, I would like to apologise for my conduct. It is not how I should be greeting my son's future lifemate."

Harry took a deep breath and felt his hand being squeezed in encouragement. He let go of Draco's hand and shook Lucius' slowly, carefully.

"Thank you, Lord Malfoy." Harry replied, inclining his head. "Please accept my thanks at having me in your house this weekend."

Lucius stepped forwards and waved his hand. Draco and Harry sat down and Lucius started pacing in front of them.

"There are many positives about having a wife who talks a great deal of sense into me. She reminded me that her sister has gone the wrong path from choosing the Dark Arts over her family ties. I have been persuaded not to go the same way." Lucius pulled out a small mahogany and velvet box from his robe pocket. Draco brought his hand to his mouth, mirroring his mother's movements minutes earlier.

"Father…" he murmured, awed by the sign of his father's acceptance. It showed to him most of all that his father would not abandon him and that he was happy with the decision that Harry Potter would one day be in charge of the Malfoy Family along with him, Draco Malfoy.

"Mr. Potter, this is a very important box, one that has not been opened since I last started courting Narcissa. It is now for you to open."

Draco pushed Harry off the sofa and watched as his mate stumbled a bit before walking gingerly over to Lucius Malfoy, who hesitated a moment before handing the box over.

Harry opened it.

* * *

_A/N: Want to know what'll happen next? Do tell me!_


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me. _

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Eleven

Draco lay down on Harry's bed, watching his mate's expression carefully as he emerged from the ensuite bathroom. Draco had laid out some of his own clothes for Harry to try on, and was enjoying the feeling of his Veela purring possessively inside him when Harry emerged from the bathroom in some of Draco's best dress robes, but one of his least worn. That annoyed Draco, because his mate then didn't have his scent on his –but then the Veela figured that his parents would then be less likely to recognise their son's dress robes.

They were a deep, powerful green; not quite _Avada Kedavra_ green, but Harry's type of green, the green that made Draco want to melt, which came close to breaking his Malfoy mask every time he saw a flash of it in the corridors at Hogwarts. They fit Harry perfectly, and accentuated every single flattering aspect of Harry's body, and Draco just _had_ to head over to his mate to touch him.

"How do I look?" Harry asked uncertainly, as Draco moved the fabric around him. "I've never worn something so…_expensive_. Are all your clothes this comfortable, Draco?"

Draco smirked at his mate from where he was kneeling by his feet.

"Of course. Nothing but the best for a Malfoy." He glanced at the discreet ring on Harry's finger. "My mother will be getting to you soon."

Harry looked vaguely horrified and Draco rose to wrap his arms around Harry. He felt him lean into the embrace and Draco lowered his head so that it was lying on his shoulder. Harry pulled him closer and they stayed together for long moments, their hearts beating softly, and Draco knew that it would not be long before their hearts beat together for eternity.

* * *

"I hope that I made the right choice." Lucius glanced at the empty box and his hand trembled when he closed the lid. Narcissa took his hand in hers and brought it to her lips, kissing it tenderly before Lucius moved it to his wife's cheek.

"I do not doubt that you have done what is right."

"It goes against _everything_ I have been taught. All of the Malfoy principles. Everything." Lucius leant his forehead against his wife's.

"Maybe it does." Narcissa looked into her husband's eyes. She didn't see the strong Malfoy lord everyone knew, she didn't see the feared Death Eater, and she didn't see the powerful politician. She saw a scared little boy sitting in his father's study, listening to him speak about power and purebloods and making his son keep the tradition. She saw the fear of change, the fear of disapproval. "But if you never try to break the mould, you'll just be a name in the ancestral tomes. You'll do nothing to be remembered. But, as you told me once, a Malfoy never loses. Do you think that your Veela, and your son's Veela, would have chosen us if they didn't feel that a change was needed?"

Lucius chuckled.

"Well, we better see if young Mr. Potter can live up to his ring."

* * *

"Protocol dictates that my father enters first, followed by me, as his heir, then you and mother enter together. Don't sit until my father says the Malfoy family motto. The compulsory reply is _Semper_ –Always."

"I can't believe that I'm going to agree to a pureblood motto." Harry murmured, uncomfortable in Draco's silk robes. The Veela chuckled and squeezed his hand. Lucius and Narcissa seemed to materialise beside them and Draco moved to stand behind his father. Once they were all in line, Narcissa standing beside him, Lucius tapped the door with his cane and it opened. They entered, one behind the other and stood behind their chairs.

"_Sanctimonia Vincet Semper_."

"_Semper_."

They followed Lucius' lead and sat in their seats. Food materialised on the table and Harry waited until Lucius, then Draco and then Narcissa served themselves before serving himself. It was a delicious meal, but Harry's insides were eating him alive and he only served himself what he thought he could eat, which wasn't much.

"Mr. Potter, I hope that you are aware of the significance of your ring." Lucius said, his piercing gray eyes, just like his son's, but colder, looking straight at Harry.

"I know that it tells of Heir Malfoy's intention to bond with me." Harry had been instructed by his mate to refer to him as 'Heir Malfoy', which was his official title until he inherited his father's. The name was sour and bitter on Harry's tongue, and he longed to feel his mate's _real_ name trip off his tongue.

"It does indeed, Mr. Potter." Lucius cut up his meat delicately. "It also proclaims that you are an ally, that your family will eventually be joined to my heir's."

Harry swallowed some water to hide his anxiety. He was well aware of the repercussions of this alliance, and he glanced at Draco, but his mate was staring straight ahead and refusing to meet anyone's eyes. Harry took a deep breath and looked back at Lucius.

"I am honoured to call the Malfoy family allies." He said carefully and he felt Draco's leg touch his in approval.

"The ring also contains many protective enchantments dating back to the founding of the Malfoy family," Narcissa said, "As being part of the Malfoy family became a hazard, the Founder of our family decided that his family would have unobtrusive protection spells on them at all times. His heir and his heir's betrothed, his wife and he had rings with protection spells on them. These are family heirlooms and have some spells on them that could block spells almost as powerful as the Imperius. This is because magic was wilder and more powerful in those days, and it has been tamed now."

Harry felt slightly overwhelmed and understood exactly what Lucius had given him. He glanced at the ring on his finger and saw how the beautifully polished silver gleamed brightly in the evening light and wondered how the first person who wore this felt. As overwhelmed, as flattered as he was? He looked over at Lucius again.

"I do have a question for you, if that is acceptable, Lord Malfoy?" Harry asked. Lucius nodded. "Should I wear this ring to school and thus announce to Hogwarts what Heir Malfoy's intentions are towards me?"

Lucius leant back in his seat and glanced at Harry with interest. The Potter boy had not struck him as someone particularly bright or aware of the danger he posed to many people's safety, but his words had just proven Lucius' suppositions wrong.

"Indeed you shall not. You must wear this ring around your neck at all times, but you cannot wear it around your finger. This is not to hide our allegiances, Mr. Potter, but to protect you from the Slytherins who wish you harm."

"It is much appreciated, Lord Malfoy."

* * *

Draco heaved a sigh of relief as dinner ended. His mate had comported himself beautifully and had read into every little insinuation his father had put forward. He had flattered and praised and cosied up to his mother until she was practically preening and falling over herself to help Harry. He had put forward his own insinuations and double meanings and had held his own in a battle of wits and words against his father. Overall, dinner had gone exceedingly well and Draco was certain that the course of Malfoy history had finally changed for good.

They were excused from the table and went upstairs to Draco's room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Draco pulled off his robe and then his shirt to let his wings go free. Harry pulled off his robe, leaving him in his shirt and his trousers and dropped it beside Draco's robe and shirt. Draco then lay down on his bed and extended his wings so that they lay across the whole width of the absolutely huge bed. Harry climbed into it and lay on one of his mate's wings. Draco curled into Harry and pulled him closer.

"You did well." Draco praised and saw Harry smile.

"I tried my best." Harry leant forwards hesitantly and kissed his mate's nose. It was so feather-light but Draco felt it and shivered. "I wanted to impress him and impress you."

"Oh, we're showing off now, are we?" Draco asked teasingly. "I can definitely show off better than you if you want to _attempt_ the challenge."

Harry pushed himself up onto his elbow and stared down at Draco's face. The moment was strangely intimate, and they stared into each other's eyes for a long time. Draco's wings fluttered gently and the previously teasing mood turned into something more powerful. Harry's magic permeated the air around him and Draco's magic responded accordingly. Both teenagers gasped as their magics touched each other's for the first time consciously.

Harry _felt_ Draco. There was no other way to describe it. He felt Draco's life power inside of him, and he knew that Draco was feeling his. They were forming a bond deeper than words and feelings –they were forming a bond based on their lives.

For wizards and witches, magic was the foundation of their being. With Muggles, there was no need for magic to sustain them, but for wizards and witches it was necessary. If a witch or wizard had no magic inside them, if it was ripped from them in a ritual, they would become gibbering messes of humans. There would be nothing left of them that remained. Sharing magic was so intimate, so powerful and meant so much that it was only done when subconsciously the two people trusted the other absolutely. Enough sharing of magic could lead to one person being able to use the other's magic –say, if one was under _Stupefy_, the other could use that person's magic to defend the area until the Stupefied person recovered. It was also a way to share feelings and thoughts. If magic was shared daily, or even weekly, telepathy was a common side effect and a much-desired one.

When Draco felt Harry's magic tentatively touching his, his Veela roared to the surface of his mind. He had to protect his mate's magic, show his mate that his trust was not misplaced. He would treasure the gift of his mate's magic. As their magics melded into the other's a bit further, Draco could have laughed hysterically at the power he felt in Harry's magic. Merlin, his mate was _strong_. He sat up and wrapped Harry tightly inside his wings, tucking the other teenager into his body so that no one could see Harry while they were sharing this intimate ritual.

After a while, they separated and their magics retreated a bit, but they skated over the surface of each other, not wanting to separate just yet.

"What was _that_?" Harry gasped, looking up at Draco in astonishment from inside his wings.

"Simply the most precious gift you could ever have given me, Harry. Thank you for your trust. Thank you _so_ much. You have _no idea _what you have given me."

"I have a good idea from that euphoric look on your face." Harry kissed Draco on his lips and nipped them slightly. Draco made a sound in his throat and replied enthusiastically.

"If sharing magic does this to you, I want to do it all the time." Draco murmured into Harry's lips.

"I would happily share magic with you again. I just need to learn more about it." Harry whispered.

"We can do that tomorrow." Draco kissed him again and again, as if he was addicted to Harry's lips and couldn't get enough. "But right now we don't need to care about my parents, or Hogwarts, or magic. I just want to be with you."

"That's enough for me."

* * *

_A/N: Thank you for staying with __Always__ so far. Is it meeting your needs? Please do tell me._


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me. _

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Twelve

When Harry woke up, it was to a soft, gentle breeze flowing across his torso through the window he must have opened when he came back from Draco's room. His body felt heavy and relaxed, and there was a pressure in the back of his head that Harry had never felt before but which, for some reason, made him feels comforted and safe. He opened his eyes slowly, not wanting to face the day again, and rolled over to look out of the window.

It was a gorgeous day. He could feel the crisp freshness of the October air, and he could hear the birds singing in the Malfoy gardens below. He heard someone moving about outside; probably Narcissa talking to her husband or some other person who had come to call on the Malfoys. It was peaceful and Harry could see why Draco adored being at home.

They had stayed curled up in Draco's bed for a long time after they had shared magic. Neither of them had been ready to leave the other, and Draco's Veela had growled when Narcissa had entered to say goodnight to them and to tell Harry that he needed to return to his room. Their magic had never really left each other's, and Harry knew now that the heavy presence in the back of his mind was most likely Draco's mental presence forming. Not because of any book, but because it felt like Draco. When he was around Draco, Draco always wanted to be a palpable, recognizable presence. He never wanted to be ignored. It would figure that Draco in his mind was the same.

His door opened carefully, and Harry put his hand underneath his pillow, grasping his wand. It wouldn't be either of the elder Malfoys because they would have knocked. It was most likely Draco, but that begged the question of why he hadn't opened their adjoining door.

"Morning Harry." Draco greeted brightly. He was carrying two mugs of steaming hot chocolate and was dressed in very elegant silk pyjamas with a silk dressing gown that hung open casually. He walked over to the bed and put the hot chocolates down on the other side of the bed before pushing himself up and taking them again, handing one to Harry in the process.

"Morning Draco." Harry sipped at the hot chocolate and sighed blissfully. It was perfect, one of the best hot chocolates he had ever had in his life. He looked at Draco, who seemed to have frozen in place while staring at Harry. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Draco coughed. "Do you like the hot chocolate?"

"It's amazing. Did you make it yourself?" Harry asked. He somehow couldn't imagine Draco Malfoy walking down to the kitchen in Malfoy Manor and making something with his own hands. It was such an amusing image that Harry barely prevented himself from snorting into his mug.

"Yes." Draco looked a bit bashful, and Harry realised that the other side of the amusing image was the fact that Draco Malfoy had gone to the kitchen and made him something. He leant over, mindful of their hot chocolates, and kissed his mate gently on the bridge of his nose. Draco turned from bashful to smug and placed his mug on the bedside table before curling into Harry, who still continued sipping his drink.

"I was thinking that I could show you Malfoy Manor and then we pack up our stuff and leave for school after lunch. It'll give you enough time to talk to Weasley and Granger." Draco said comfortably, his head resting just above Harry's heart and feeling its powerful, strong beat. His magic woke up from its slumber and reached out for Harry's again.

"You really like doing that," Harry said, amused when he felt his magic collide with Draco's again. The feeling was not as intense as their first time, but it still gave him a feeling of safety, love and the simple feeling of being wanted.

"You have _no idea_ how amazing it is to share magic with you, Harry. You trust me enough to let me into your very essence. You're made of magic, Harry, all wizards are, but because it's _you_, and even though you're my mate, the fact that you're giving me a part of what makes you up is just the most incredible feeling in the world. I've never been trusted this much before." Draco looked awed and pushed himself up to kiss Harry's lips.

Harry put down his mug and moved so that Draco was soon straddling him. He wrapped his arms around his mate's waist and responded enthusiastically to Draco's kiss. Draco made a noise in the back of his throat and Harry unconsciously responded to it, making Draco push forwards even more. His hands moved up Harry's back, and he pulled back a moment to check that Harry was okay. Harry nodded and moved to nibble at Draco's earlobe. Draco whimpered and pushed his hands up Harry's shirt to start mapping Harry's stomach.

Suddenly, the door opened and as if a switch had been flipped, Draco whirled around, his wings flaring, hiding Harry from sight. A ferocious growl ripped from his throat and he glared angrily at the quaking house-elf who had fallen to the floor in fear.

"What are you doing here?" he roared, and his wings extended further out while his magic permeated the room. The house-elf was weakly muttering apologies from the floor, but Draco wasn't hearing any of them.

"Draco," Harry murmured, "Draco, calm down."

In response, Draco growled again and snapped his fingers. The house-elf disappeared almost immediately. Once he was sure that the house-elf had left, he turned around so quickly that Harry was left struggling to grasp the situation. His magic slammed towards Harry, and Harry's rose to meet him, creating a massive wave of magic that surrounded them and flowed around them, making the furniture in the room shake.

Draco's door flew open and Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were stopped in their tracks when they saw, and felt, the sheer power surrounding the pair. The air was filled with their combined magic, Draco's strong and possessive like his personality, and Harry's giving out a heady sense of power. Lucius Malfoy felt drunk on the sheer power of Harry's magic, and he knew that Narcissa was the same. They were both aware of Draco's magic, of course, being his parents, but they had had no idea to what extent it ranged; it matched _Harry_ _Potter's_ magic.

Narcissa watched as Draco's wings, the largest she'd ever seen, wrapped tightly around Harry, and hid him from their view. The magic remained a heavy presence in the room but calmed down a bit, and Narcissa slowly pulled her husband, who looked slightly punch-drunk, from the room. If Draco saw them there when he was in that state, there was no doubt in her mind that he would have hurt them.

* * *

Draco felt an overpowering urge to mark his mate. His Veela was at the forefront of his mind, pulled violently forwards by the house-elf's appearance. Another magical creature had seen what belonged to _him_ when he was at his weakest, most vulnerable. A magical creature. Draco growled again and his wings twitched from their position around Harry before tightening around him again.

His mate was completely still, his breathing soft and relaxed. He knew not to disturb Draco and to let him do what he wanted. He _trusted_ Draco. That was the key thing, and Draco had to move up and kiss Harry because he _loved_ his mate, dammit. Draco was _trusted_, trusted enough to share magic. He could feel his mate in the back of his mind, stronger now since their magical explosion, and he longed for that telepathic connection between them.

Leaving Harry's lips, he manoeuvred his mate so that he was lying down on the bed. Gently, carefully, slowly, Draco opened his pyjama shirt. Harry nodded when Draco glanced up briefly.

Pausing, Draco sat back on his haunches, his wings spread wide, to admire his mate. Harry was muscular without being bulky, fit but not obviously so. He was perfect in Draco's eyes, and his Veela pushed him to move closer, to satisfy his primal need to mark his mate. Moving up towards Harry's collarbone, he started nibbling just above it, at the base of his neck. He heard Harry's sharp intake of breath and smiled. His mate liked that, did he then? He licked and sucked slowly, until his mate was giving out high, keening sounds. Suddenly, Harry stilled and Draco pulled away to see his mate's stunning green eyes lock onto his, pupils blown wide from the overdose of sensations.

Draco smiled smugly. Only _he_ was allowed to see Harry like this. He muttered a quiet Cleaning Charm, moved so that he was lying beside Harry, and retracted his wings. Harry pushed closer to him and closed his eyes.

"It's your fault I'm feeling like this now." Harry grumbled quietly with no real heat.

"Ah, but you liked it." Draco pointed out.

"Possessive you is _very_ hot." Harry chuckled softly. "If I had any doubts as to whether or not I was gay, well, this just blew apart any doubts."

"Just lie here for a bit. Savour the moment, and then I can show you Malfoy Manor."

"I'd like that." Harry smiled, reaching out for his hot chocolate again. For some reason, it was still warm. He sipped it. "This is probably the best morning I've ever had."

"That's because I'm here." Draco teased.

"Prat."

* * *

"Dear Merlin." Lucius whispered. "Dear bloody Merlin."

"Well?" Narcissa asked, sitting on the seat beside her husband. He had collapsed on the sofa in their bedroom, overwhelmed by the sensations of his son's and his son's mate's magic combined.

"I've never felt _anything_ that powerful."

"Not even from the Dark Lord?" Narcissa pressed. Her husband turned his eyes onto his wife. They were wide with shock and slightly greedy. She had no doubts that feeling that power had turned Lucius completely. Not blind to her husband's faults, she was aware of the dangers of him being around Harry, but she knew that he would never harm anything that their son obviously cherished so much.

"Merlin, no. The Dark Lord has _nothing_ on their combined magic. And, Cissy, Potter's _power_. Our son matches _Potter_."

"I did not doubt it for a moment. They are mates for a reason, and mates match each other's power."

Lucius was silent, reflecting on what he had felt. Narcissa leant her head against her husband's shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders in return. She thought over what she had felt.

Draco had always been a possessive child; an unfortunate side effect of being an only child. He had always taken care of anything he had taken a liking to, though, getting very angry when any of his toys had been broken. Narcissa was pretty sure that they still had every single one of his old toys. With his friends, Draco had always been the protective and dominant figure. None of his friends had ever made a serious decision without him, and they had all formed tight bonds. Tighter than what Lucius and herself had with his friends' parents. She had no illusions as to what they would be told once the parents discovered the Malfoy Family's chance in alliance.

Despite what their parents thought, or ordered them to do, Narcissa knew that Draco had been such an effective leader that they would not want to leave him. Now, having felt her son's magic, she knew that they had also been around him because he was _strong_. With Potter, he was even stronger. She had felt Draco's magic before, of course, every mother had felt her child's magic, but this was unlike anything she had ever felt coming off of Draco.

It was hope.

* * *

_A/N: I hope that it lived up to your expectations! Please feel free to tell me what you thought…did you like it? Love it? Hate it?_


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N:__ Draco's real middle name is Lucius, for anyone wondering if I got it wrong._

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Thirteen

Malfoy Manor was huge. If there had been any doubts in Harry's mind that Draco was wealthy then the size of his home obliterated those doubts.

Not only was Malfoy Manor huge, but it also oozed magic. Ancient, powerful magic that Harry could feel crawling up him, feeling him, tasting him. It was sentient, like Hogwarts, except that this magic was judging him and he felt that it wasn't getting a good impression.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy!"

Harry saw Draco jump and turn around reluctantly to face his mother's voice.

"Keep looking around, Harry. I'll come and find you afterwards." With that, Draco stalked off, presumably to face the music.

Harry took a deep breath and walked on a bit. He stopped when he caught sight of a dark black door with a golden knob. Curious, he opened the door and walked into the room. It was a wide, empty room with only a wooden chair in the middle of it. It was so out of place in the luxurious Malfoy Manor that Harry had to double-check that the door he had gone through was still there and he hadn't been transported to a different place.

"Why are you here, boy? I don't see Lucius anywhere."

Harry's wand was out of his pocket almost immediately and he whirled around, looking for the source of the raspy voice.

"You won't find me, boy. I'm sitting on the chair, but you can't see me. I'm leaning on the wall, but you won't see me. I'm everywhere in Malfoy Manor, but you won't see me."

Harry's wand hand trembled slightly but otherwise he remained impassive, his mind running over many possibilities as to who this person could be. No, not a person: an entity.

"You're Malfoy Manor."

"Oh you _are_ clever, aren't you, boy?" the voice chuckled throatily and a breeze seemed to flow through the room. Now that Harry knew what it was, he could feel the magic in the room and it felt like the magic all around the Manor.

"People would disagree with that, sir." Harry replied respectfully, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the Manor's statement.

"You're the Heir's mate, aren't you?" the Manor rasped, not deigning to reply to Harry's statement.

"I am." Harry stood proudly by the door, unwilling to let the Manor get to him.

"Sit on the chair, boy."

"Why should I trust you?" Harry asked. "I've felt you moving around. You've been invading me to feel my magic. I don't appreciate it."

"I don't like that Lucius hasn't _introduced_ you to me yet."

"Lord Malfoy _dislikes_ me."

"That is no reason to disobey my laws. _Especially_ after that little display of magic you and your mate performed the other day." There was a rush of angry magic around the room. Harry's magic licked at his skin, appearing in barely visible blue flames, in response to the Manor's magic.

"I don't like you." Harry dared to say. His magic agreed rather violently, the flames going from blue to a deep, warm red. They pulsed around Harry, but oddly he wasn't scared in the least. Instead, he felt for the source of his magic and pushed out towards the centre of the room, where the chair stood. It burst into flames. "_That_ is what I think of your chair."

"Oh, you're _good_, boy." The Manor chuckled and the magic condensed right in the middle of the scorched ground where the chair had been into a translucent man. He was old, but stood tall and strong. "I am made of magic, child. You _cannot_ defeat me."

"I'm not here to defeat you. I was only looking around the Manor, as Draco said I should do." Harry sighed. "I did not expect to find you, or even that there was such a thing as you."

The translucent spirit conjured a hard backed wooden chair and sat down on it. He waved his hand in a complex way and started talking, his magic acting out the scenes that he described.

"When every magical home is created, there is always a spirit created as well. Every spirit is sentient and creates the atmosphere of the house. Every Heir is introduced to the spirit of the house, and if deemed worthy by the house, the Heir will be allowed to remain as Heir. I can read every person who enters the house and decide his or her intentions. They can't stop me." The man smirked. "It's a different form of Legilimancy, one that not even dear Tom can stop."

"Tom?" Harry asked. "Who is Tom?"

"Oh, this is _exciting_!" The man looked gleeful and a little bit triumphant. "_You_ are Harry Potter and you don't know who Tom Riddle is?"

"How do _you_ know who Tom Riddle is?" Harry reciprocated, despite having no idea who Tom Riddle was. "As far as I can tell, you've never left Malfoy Manor."

"I _am_ Malfoy Manor, boy. This means that I have access to the minds of every person who has ever entered the Manor. They will have no idea what I've done. Were you listening to what I said, boy?"

"Would you mind terribly _not_ calling me 'boy'?" Harry asked angrily, images of Vernon Dursley flashing through his mind.

"I know what the Dursleys did to you." Surprisingly, the Manor sounded gentle. The old man's face looked earnest and well meaning. "I've seen my fair share of abuse in the time I've been the spirit of the Manor. I won't use it against you. I have protected my own."

"I'm not a Malfoy." Harry said, touched by the Manor's words. "Why do you care?"

"Because you're wearing a Malfoy ring, child." The old man stood up and walked towards Harry. His hands moved to Harry's face and touched it. Harry could feel the magic wrapping around him, but oddly enough, his magic didn't rebel but instead guided the Manor's magic to his core. "And you love the Heir."

Harry pulled back, startled. Even he hadn't sorted out his feelings regarding Draco. Turning the Manor's attention to less dangerous things, Harry returned to their previous conversation.

"What about Tom Riddle, then?"

The old man brought his hand up to touch Harry's scar.

"You're tainted."

"I'm tainted by Lord Voldemort." Harry murmured.

"You're also tainted by Tom Riddle. Though that boy left aeons ago. If only Lucius had listened to me." The old man put his hand to his face as if pained by something.

"What are you talking about?"

The old man waved his hand and the words 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' formed in the air. Harry gasped and scrambled backwards, memories of the Chamber of Secrets and a young redheaded girl lying immobile in the middle of the huge stone chamber flashing through his mind.

"I am Lord Voldemort." Harry gasped out.

"The Heir knew what he was talking about when he chose you." Harry's magic flickered again and surrounded the young Potter in flames, protecting him while he felt vulnerable.

"Do you mean…have you see Tom Riddle?"

"Merlin, not since he was still Tom. Lucius invited him to the Manor once and…" the old man trailed off, lost in memories. The room was plunged into darkness only alleviated by Harry's flames. "His mind was dark, darker even than this room. He was powerful, Merlin was he powerful!" The spirit glanced at Harry for a moment, contemplating something. "Your little _performance_ yesterday disrupted my thoughts. But it was the most magical power that this house has ever felt since Tom Riddle came to visit. If Tom had been brought up correctly, he would have done such _good_ for the Wizarding World."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Well, he was bullied. He was brought up in an orphanage and bullied for being 'odd'. A bit like you, really."

Harry shuddered to think that his upbringing had been _anything_ like his nemeses.

"Maybe that's why you're both fated to fight each other. You went the right way, but poor Tom didn't." The spirit glanced at Harry's scar. "That scar does not just link you to Tom's mind, but it also holds Tom's spirit."

The flames around Harry were suddenly extinguished and the room went completely dark. The old man made the room light up again and saw Harry collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily.

"Oh yes, boy, didn't you realise already?" The Manor asked. "You're the reason Tom's still able to cling to the human world."

"Stop! Stop it!" Harry yelled, slamming his hand down on the ground. Sparks flew off the floor and his magic flew out, pushing the old man to the floor. Slowly, the Manor rose up again.

"I'm not lying. I read Tom's thoughts! I _know_ what he wanted. I _know_ his deepest desires. Do you think that they've changed even a bit?" He threw back his head and laughed. "You have _no idea_ what I can read in people's minds."

"Why are you telling me this? Do you hate me?" Harry asked.

"On the contrary, a Malfoy protects its own. Ever since you agreed to be Draco Malfoy's mate, you've been part of the Malfoy Family. Once the house accepts the Heir, there is no way that they can stop being linked to the Malfoy ancestral home. Even if Lucius disowned Draco, young Malfoy would still be able to enter the Manor. I wouldn't stop him. I've accepted him." The Manor chuckled. "You've been accepted by Lucius Malfoy. You come under my protection and it is in my interests to get Tom Riddle out of your head."

Harry looked at the Manor, who looked back seriously.

"You can take him out of my head? You can make Lord Voldemort mortal again?" Harry asked.

"Remember, child, I'm not human. I'm made of magic. Thus Lord Voldemort cannot destroy me. I can manipulate whatever magic he's done to link his soul to yours. I can help you." The Manor knelt before Harry's fallen form. "You were chosen by forces unknown to me to be Draco's mate. I'm going to find out why."

"You think that this is one of the reasons why?"

"Who else could help you take away his soul without killing you?"

"What do I need to do?"

Suddenly, the door flew open and Draco Malfoy stormed in, his wings fully flared, hard and scaled.

"Get away from my mate!" he roared, his magic pushing against the old man furiously when he saw Harry's form on the ground.

"Draco, stop!" Harry cried out, rising from the floor. "He's going to help me."

"Malfoy Manor wants to help a Potter?" Draco asked in confusion. His wings flapped behind him.

"It's time to put past grievances behind the Family, young Heir." The old man said cryptically. "Your mate is hurt -badly- and I am willing to help him."

* * *

_A/N:__ Don't you just hate me?_


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Fourteen

"What do you mean, hurt?" Draco asked, his wings fluttering in agitation behind him. Harry moved to stand in front of him and took his hands. While he rubbed his thumbs soothingly over his mate's palm, he explained what the Manor had told him. As he spoke, Draco's wings started flapping furiously.

"Shh, Draco, shh." Harry murmured.

"How can you say that?" Draco wrenched his hands away from Harry's, not seeing how that hurt his mate. "You have the Dark Lord's _soul_ in your head! You have been _sheltering _the Dark Lord, _tethering_ him to life?"

This time, it was not Harry who reacted. It was the Manor. The old man conjured a staff and slammed it to the ground, sending out a wave of magic that knocked Draco violently against the door. The Malfoy Heir was lifted up off the floor and started choking as the Manor's magic held his throat. The Manor stalked towards Draco, fury written on every line of his face.

"For some reason, your genes have chosen you to be a Veela with a mate. Some Veela don't get that honour, did you know that?" the Manor asked calmly. His magic pushed Draco harder into the door. "You have hurt your mate."

That was enough for Draco. He glanced at Harry, who was standing completely frozen where Draco had left him. His magic was sparking gently across his body, but Harry was completely unreactive. Slowly, Draco was lowered to the ground. His wings beat the air gently and he walked to his mate, sorrow written on every line of his face. When he was a few inches away from his mate, he folded his wings to his back and let them disappear. He stood there as Draco Malfoy.

"Harry," he whispered. Harry's eyes snapped to his. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Of course I didn't." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." Draco looked at his hands and started fiddling with his robe. "I've got a lot to work through; I'm still Draco Malfoy, though the Veela has rubbed off some of the edges, and I'll say the wrong things when I mean different. I _do_ mean well, and I really _am _sorry for what I said."

Harry's hand moved to stop Draco's fiddling. His green eyes were burning with suppressed fire and Draco's were burning with suppressed tears.

"I've trusted you as well, Malfoy." Harry murmured. He titled his head down to the ground. "And I don't know why. I've trusted my instincts; I always have. They're what have saved me for years. I don't pretend to be perfect either; now I find out that I'm anything but. I'm not an idiot, I know we've got a lot to work through –"

"–There's a reason that my instincts have chosen you, Potter," Draco said fondly, "And we can be imperfect together, after all. I was foolish to tell you that." He took a step closer and leaned his forehead against Harry's. His hands wrapped around Harry's waist gently; Harry's hands came around Draco's shoulders. Grey stared into green and a small smile tugged at Harry's mouth.

"You were worried."

"I was worried."

Behind them, the Manor smiled widely and watched as Draco and Harry kissed in the half-darkness of the room. He coughed and wanted to chuckle when they blushed furiously, remembering that he was in the room.

"Do not take your mate for granted, young Malfoy." He cautioned. "Now, why don't we get on with removing Tom from your head, boy?"

At that, Draco's wings materialised again and wrapped tightly around Harry. He growled at the Manor and his teeth elongated into fangs. Soft snickering came from inside the wings.

"Draco, let me out. I want him out of my head."

The Manor almost turned away when he saw how selfish young Draco Malfoy's face crumpled into something so soft, so tender that the Manor could barely believe that this was the same boy who had been ridiculously spoilt by his parents. Instead, he watched as Draco's wings opened slowly and beat the air behind him as Harry walked back to the Manor.

"Come, child."

Harry stopped in front of the spirit and knelt on the ground in front of him. Then the Manor touched his forehead and the contact with the pure Malfoy magic was too much for him. He screamed and blacked out.

* * *

Silence. White, blank silence. Harry had always considered silence to be the worst; it was when Uncle Vernon would be preparing himself, when he was alone in the world, in his cupboard. The ringing in his ears was the worst. He raised his head and saw a huge expanse of white in front of him, marred by a deep, black chair. He walked over to it and sat down.

"_Mama loves you, Harry. Papa loves you, Harry. We love you so much. Be strong, darling boy."_

Harry heard his mother's voice echo around him and he jumped off the chair and whirled around.

"Mum?" his voice echoed eerily around him and was soon absorbed by the empty white space surrounding him. "Who was that?"

Harry reached for his magic and found to his absolute horror that it was not there. There was nothing. His magic had been robbed from him. Falling to the ground with the realisation, Harry did not notice the tall shade that was advancing towards him.

"Harry James Potter."

Harry's neck snapped it moved up so fast. He held out his hands in an instinctive gesture of defense, but he soon realised that it was no use to try and fight. The shade was head and shoulders taller than him and floated eerily above the ground. Its face was masked by an ornate mask and a low black cowl.

"What are you?" Harry shuddered. "You're not Death, are you?"

"Death?" it asked. "Why would I be Death? You're still alive."

"What are you, then?" Harry took a step backwards, but the shade moved with him.

"I'm what was inside you." It chuckled. "I'm Lord Voldemort."

Nothing came out of Harry's mouth. It was impossible for him to say anything in reply to something like that.

"You're Lord Voldemort's soul?"

"Don't sound so shocked." It sounded quite carefree. "I'm part of Lord Voldemort, anyway. I was tethered by very Dark magic to your soul. It's pure, you know; the purest soul that I've ever touched."

"You don't sound like Lord Voldemort. I've met him; I'd know." Harry stopped feeling scared and started feeling curious. "And why has my magic gone?"

"You don't need magic here, Harry James Potter. This is a place where magic can't hurt you; that's why we're separate. Not just because I'm being pulled out of your body, but also because magic does so much harm that it's only right that there's some place where it can't do anything."

"This is that place, then." Harry looked around at the white. "It's so _empty_."

"Tom was once a good person, you know. I was once white and my mask was once silver. Years of hurt and injustice took their toll on him, you know. I tried my best, but he had to cut me in three: the diary, himself and you. Though I can't complain about the time I've been in your body. It was such a break from Tom's evil one."

"Somehow I never thought that souls had separate identities from their hosts." Harry replied. He moved to sit down on the chair. The soul kept hovering in front of him, completely expressionless but for its voice.

"We complement our hosts, but we _do_ have a mind of our own. We are under our hosts' control, but we are still completely different. We try to embody what is the best about our person; that's why I'm grey, not black. The part of me still inside Tom is deep black. It's impossible to stay inside a host that dark without going completely dark."

"So essentially I've helped you?"

"Naturally." The soul's voice was sharp. "But now I'm being pulled away from you, I'm going to remain in this white state until Tom is killed." Its voice took on a sad tone. "I love Tom. He's incapable of loving anyone due to the fact that he was conceived under a love potion, but I love him. And I've done the best I could for him."

For a moment, Harry was convinced that the soul was crying. Its voice had broken a bit towards the end of its sentence and it had turned away. Then, in the ringing silence of this space, Harry felt something leave him. The soul became more solid in front of his eyes and turned back to face him.

"You have done your best, Harry James Potter."

"Thank you." Harry couldn't help but feel as if this was some sort of important farewell.

"Promise me one thing before you leave."

"Go ahead."

"When you face Tom for the last time, ask him for remorse. It's the least you can do as compensation for the injustice and inhuman way he was treated as a child."

"And you think that's going to do something?"

"No." It said simply.

"Then why ask?"

"Because it's the right thing to do, Harry James Potter. And you must always do what is right, even if it hurts."

Harry had nothing to say to that.

* * *

_A/N: Wow, that just came out. I did not expect that in the least. I welcome any thoughts._


	15. Chapter 15

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Fifteen

As Draco watched his mate collapse onto the floor in agony, he knew that he well deserved the roar of fury of his Veela. He had purposely let his mate walk into danger. His wings flapped angrily and he had to exert significant control to not walk over to his mate, who was lying on the floor, completely immobile, with the Manor's hand pressed onto his forehead. He whined instead. The Manor looked up briefly and then looked back at Harry, whose face had gone white. Draco whined again.

"Shh, Heir Malfoy," the Manor whispered. Their eyes both travelled down to Harry's prone form.

Silence reigned for a few long, interminable minutes, when suddenly Harry jerked back to life and started coughing violently. That was it for Draco. With a ferocious growl, he went to his mate, his fangs and claws out and his wings hard and scaled. Harry started hyperventilating.

"Get away from him!" Draco bellowed. "Get away at once!" His magic flew out and in dark black flames headed for the Manor. The Veela roared inside of him; the Manor was hurting his mate, the Manor was killing Harry.

The Manor sprang backwards as if burnt. Draco growled at him and bundled Harry into his arms, his Veela lending him strength to do so. He nuzzled gently at his mate's neck, a direct contrast with the anger and fear rampaging through his body.

"Dray…" Harry whispered, his voice hoarse. Draco shushed him and in a whoosh of Veela magic disappeared from the room.

The Manor collapsed onto the floor.

"Bloody boy took my chair," he groaned before disappearing into the air.

* * *

Draco placed his mate ever so gently on his bed, stroking back his hair tenderly. His Veela had calmed down somewhat from its fury and all it wanted to do was curl up beside its mate. Draco started crooning softly in the Veela language as he took off Harry's shoes and his own. As he pulled the covers over Harry and then lay on top of them beside his mate, Harry's eyes fluttered open.

"That's nice."

Draco smiled and kissed Harry's forehead.

"You scared me." Draco murmured into Harry's hair, unused to admitting to such a weakness.

"I saw Voldemort's soul," Harry whispered, "He was hurt."

Draco reared back.

"His soul?"

"Voldemort placed a portion of his soul into my body to tether him to life." Harry took a deep breath. "It was grey, with a black mask. It loved Voldemort and wanted me to ask him for remorse when I finally faced him."

"I will be there." Draco said fiercely. "I won't let _anything_ happen to you _ever_ again. You were like death." The Veela shuddered at the memory. "I won't let him kill you."

"I won't let him kill me either." Harry replied equally fiercely. "I once thought that I would let him take me away, that that would be the best recourse, but now I have something to live for."

"That was very sappy, even for you." Draco teased, but the gentle weight of his hand across Harry's chest let Harry know that he was only teasing.

With a mischievous smirk, Harry's hands tangled themselves in Draco's hair. Draco chuckled and ran his hands through Harry's hair in retaliation. Harry pulled Draco down and kissed him deeply, his tongue battling with Draco's for dominance. Draco moaned and moved to lie on top of Harry. His wings beat the air frantically.

"Draco –" Harry gasped as the Veela pushed his hands under his shirt. "Draco –"

Draco nibbled softly at Harry's collarbone and almost lost it when he felt his mate's hands stroke down his wings. Sparks of _something_ spread down from the wings to him and he groaned, his chest vibrating under Harry's hands. He pulled away from Harry's collarbone with a quiet gasp, echoing Harry, and pulled his robe off him. Harry's eyes roved down Draco's chest and he sat up to wrap his hands around Draco's waist.

Their eyes locked onto each other's in that moment and that was it for Draco. With a soft cry, his eyes fluttered close and he became boneless and rolled to the side to avoid falling on Harry. His mate gasped and fell down beside him.

"Hey, Draco?"

"Yeah?" Draco asked breathlessly.

"We should do that more often."

"Not the precursor to it, though."

Harry raised an eyebrow and muttered the Cleaning Charm on both of them. They lay in comfortable silence before Harry's hand snuck out to stroke Draco's wrist.

"I rather like protective you."

"Don't go killing yourself to pull protective me out." Draco grumbled, wrapping a hand around Harry's neck and pulling himself closer.

"I feel sorry for Voldemort." Harry whispered, as if it was a sin to say that. Draco cocked his head to the side and pushed himself up onto one elbow.

"Anyone who goes that insane needs help." Draco's hand moved to stroke Harry's hair. "And I can't argue with the Dark Lord's soul."

"I wish someone got to him before he went this insane, though."

"It doesn't matter, Harry. It doesn't excuse his atrocities. There's a lot that needs doing, I admit it. But I also admit that I'm currently lying in bed with the person who's the most likely to do something about it."

Harry blushed bright red with embarrassment. Draco stroked his cheek. The moment was strangely more intimate than their passion before and Draco let his magic out to touch Harry's.

And then their magic touched. Draco fell back down onto the bed; Harry's very _essence_ had changed after Lord Voldemort's soul had been removed. It was stronger, and it was more present. It felt purer and Draco almost went drunk on the sheer _lightness_ of his mate's magic. Harry's eyes were open wide and Draco was almost certain that he was feeling Draco's magic to an extent he had never previously thought possible.

"Draco, what is this?" Harry asked when golden sparks formed around them, moving down Draco's wings to touch the auras of their magic.

"It's a bond. A preliminary one. Not just one with magic, but a soul bond. Your soul wants to join with mine." Draco replied. He sat up and lay on top of Harry, bracing himself with his elbows. His wings lay on his shoulders heavily, curling around himself and Harry to protect them from intrusive eyes.

It was almost unheard of to have a soul bond. It was very occasional with Veela, but it had to be made in a circumstance when two mates unknowingly and unconsciously declared their love for each other. Their promises to protect each other and the two times they had previously shared magic would have been enough for that.

"Do you want this soul bond?" Harry said quietly. Draco's eyes were closed and a soft smile was tugging at his mouth.

"Do you?" Draco's eyes opened and he forgot about all the golden sparks surrounding them to grab Harry's right hand with his.

Harry nodded mutely. Draco leant forwards and kissed Harry very, very gently on his lips. A bright golden light encompassed both of them before disappearing and leaving two unconscious bodies on the bed, with two small marks on their right wrists, where their hands had been joined.

* * *

At the same moment, on a tapestry in a hidden room in Malfoy Manor, beside Draco Malfoy's name appeared a small name in golden thread: Harry Potter. The golden thread spread to take over Draco Malfoy's name and then with a puff of gold smoke, a small mark appeared beside both names.

Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were soul bonded.

* * *

_A/N:__ I know that it's a very short chapter, but believe me the soul bond is very important for a later chapter. I will make it up to you with a longer __Chapter 16__! What do you think the soul bond will be important for? Do let me know!_


	16. Chapter 16

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Sixteen

Narcissa looked up from her flower arrangement in confusion when she heard loud voices in her son's room. The two boys had been silent for a good few hours and had only just started packing to return to Hogwarts, which she thought would keep them relatively silent. _It seems not, _she thought as she hurried to Draco's room.

When she was entered, she was greeted with the sight of Harry sitting against the headboard in Draco's room, his arms crossed and Draco looking extremely repentant. She had to put her hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh; Draco had never looked so sweet.

"I don't understand why you got an falcon," Harry was saying. The comment was so out of context that Narcissa could only raise her eyebrows and see what her son replied to that.

"Come on, you got a dragon." Draco said appealingly.

"Look, I wouldn't have minded if it was a Hungarian Horntail or something like that, but no, it's a _green_ dragon with _silver_ eyes." Harry sounded extremely miffed. Narcissa coughed by the doorway, deciding that she needed to understand what was going on.

Both Draco and Harry's heads snapped around to look at her. Equally innocent looks appeared on their faces, but Narcissa was not fooled.

"What is going on here, boys?" she asked. "Professors Snape and McGonagall are expecting you both in half and hour and I can't tell if you're unpacking or packing, Draco."

"We were discussing what things would represent us if we would be represented in any way." Draco replied smoothly. "And I'm packing, Mother." He glanced around the room. "I'm in the process of deciding my clothes." A snort from Harry was unsuccessfully masked as a cough. "Shush, you." Draco threw in Harry's direction.

"Well I've finished packing." Harry announced. "To be fair, I didn't have nearly as many clothes as you seem to have."

"I'm packing spare clothes. I simply abhor your clothes, _dearest_ mate, so I'm bringing some that you could borrow to vaguely improve your sense of dress."

Narcissa realised that they had both completely forgotten that she was in the room when they continued throwing barbed comments back and forth between each other, wide smiles on both of their faces. She was glad that they had both forgotten their earlier argument.

* * *

Draco waited until his mother had left his room to move and sit next to his mate on the bed. He turned over Harry's hand so that he could see the mark on Harry's wrist. It was an intricately drawn green dragon, wings extended and silver eyes flashing. When they had woken up, the dragon had been dormant, but just as the falcon on Draco's wrist had started grooming itself; the dragon had flapped his wings when they had woken.

Draco and Harry had both discovered that when they pressed their marks, they were shown where their mate was and whom they were with. When they pressed their marks together, they found that they could access the other's magic easily and feel each other's feelings. The marks also seemed to represent what the other was feeling at the time. They also discovered that they could speak to the other in their minds, but they wanted to explore that a bit later.

"Are you really opposed to the dragon?" Draco asked Harry, who rolled his eyes in exasperation and ran his fingers along the mark. The dragon seemed to purr and followed Harry's fingers with his body. A little puff of smoke came out of the dragon's nostrils.

"Of course not, I'm just teasing." Harry scratched the dragon gently under the chin and it shivered on his wrist. Draco looked inordinately pleased and moved to kiss Harry fiercely.

"I love the falcon. It represents you perfectly." Draco touched the falcon on his wrist and watched as it fluffed up its feathers proudly. "Noble, headstrong and a flyer."

"And I _do_ love the dragon." Harry smiled. "It's just in such _obvious_ Slytherin colours."

Draco shoved Harry playfully and returned to his packing.

* * *

Blaise hated waiting. He loved making people wait, which was probably why Draco was making him wait. He tapped his hand against Draco's desk and looked over at Pansy. She was happily eating some of Draco's confectionaries he had left behind and reading a trashy edition of _Witch Weekly_ she had brought over to Draco's room.

"Where is he?"

"How would I know? I'm waiting just like you." Pansy sighed. "He said that he'd be along soon."

"Well it can't take that long to say goodnight to Potter." Blaise groaned. "It's only _Potter_ for Merlin's sake."

Pansy shut the magazine and placed it very deliberately on the table in front of her. She assessed Blaise for a few moments then nodded to herself.

"Blaise Zabini, if you do not look carefully at Draco's wrist when he returns then I will murder you."

The door opened to reveal a rather lovesick looking Draco. He glanced at Pansy, having overheard her last comment to Blaise, and then nodded approvingly.

"Why are you murdering Blaise?" he asked, smiling brightly. "As much as I wish to condone you, Pansy, I must ensure that your reasons for putting yourself in danger are for a good cause."

Pansy smirked triumphantly at Blaise. He glared at her and looked back at Draco. Remembering Pansy's words, he looked down at his friend's wrists as the young aristocrat bent down to pick up some papers that had fallen off his desk. A flash of colour on his right wrist had Blaise raise an eyebrow.

"Draco, I think that you have something on your wrist." He pointed out, startling his friend, who jumped and looked at him guiltily.

"It's nothing for you to worry about." Draco said innocently. Blaise raised an eyebrow skeptically. Draco sighed and gestured for Blaise to sit down.

"How did you notice it? I thought that I was hiding it quite well." Draco asked.

"I noticed it, darling." Pansy replied smugly. "You looked unusually pleased with yourself when you came back, and as I'm pretty certain Potter wouldn't indulge in some sex so soon, then it's got to be some sort of Veela bonding thing that's made you so happy. You just happened to rub your wrist when I was looking and I saw a flash of colour. What are you hiding?"

Draco paused. He didn't know if Harry would be telling Weasley or Granger anything, but he was backed into a corner and he didn't know what to do. He decided to try their bond out.

_Harry?_

He felt a startled jolt in his mind and a flash of confusion and fear before Harry seemed to relax.

_Is that you, Draco?_

_Who else would it be?_ Draco replied, aware that Pansy and Blaise were looking at him in confusion.

_I thought that you were Voldemort for a few seconds. I'm just used to getting flashes of his mind. What's up?_

_Pansy and Blaise have noticed that I've got something on my wrist. Can I tell them? _

There was a beat of silence in Draco's mind before Harry seemed to withdraw completely. Draco waited a few seconds and Harry's consciousness returned to him.

_Okay._

With that, Harry left his mind and Draco shook his head, unused to the feeling of communicating with someone so intimately. He decided to return to that thought later and looked back at Blaise and Pansy, who now looked impatient.

"Something massive happened over the weekend between Harry and me."

"I worked out as much, Draco. Don't take me for a fool," Pansy admonished.

"First of all, we shared magic." Draco watched Pansy and Blaise's reactions.

Blaise put his hand to his mouth and gasped. Pansy looked very carefully at Draco and leant back on the sofa, crossing her arms.

"You _shared magic_?" Blaise asked incredulously. "You've only just become mates!"

Pansy said nothing but continued looking at Draco.

"What is it, Pansy?" Draco asked, exasperated and deciding to ignore Blaise's outburst.

"You soul bonded, didn't you?" Pansy asked quietly. There was a very long, palpable pause in the room and Blaise started laughing hysterically.

"Soul bonded? Draco?" Blaise snorted. "Draco wouldn't trust anyone with his essence, his _very self_!"

Pansy did not reply. She knew that she was right and wondered why Draco had been so quick to bond with Potter. She knew about the power of a Veela bond, of course; she wasn't an idiot. However, she had known her friend for years and knew that he did not get close to someone unless he trusted them; and even then, Pansy knew, he never trusted them completely. Prior to his bond with Potter, she and Blaise had been the closest people to Draco. She would have been lying to herself if she had told herself that Draco had trusted her and Blaise with everything, which was why this soul bond was confusing.

"Draco?" Blaise asked when he received no reply from either of his friends. "Don't tell me that Pansy's right."

Draco rolled up his sleeve in reply and there, on his wrist, was a magnificent falcon who standing almost proudly on Draco's wrist. Both Pansy and Blaise leant forward to examine it further. However, when Blaise extended his hand to touch the falcon, Draco hurriedly wrenched it back and looked angrily at his friend.

"I am the only person who will ever touch the mark." He warned. "Do you not realise that it represents my mate's soul?"

"Why did you do that?" Pansy asked. "And do your parents know?"

"No, my parents don't know. Father has already agreed to ally himself with Harry; a soul bond would probably give him a heart attack." Draco looked back down at his wrist and stroked the mark. Pansy and Blaise watched in fascination as the falcon pushed himself up into Draco's fingers and started flapping his wings. "Why, you ask? I don't know, it just felt right to do it."

"We can't argue with that." Blaise said.

"No, we can't," Pansy agreed, "I just never thought that I would ever see the day where Draco Malfoy trusted someone so much he'd willingly hand over his soul to them."

"And be proud to do so, Pansy." Draco murmured. "I was proud and happy to do so."

Pansy let out a breath she hadn't realised that she had been holding. The only thing she now had to do was sit back, relax, and watch as events unfolded.

Being Draco's friend had never been boring.

* * *

_A/N: Do tell me what you think of it! Thank you for every single review I have received. I would just like to shout out to __**Liz Evans Potter**__, __**HowlingRain**__, __**adenoide**__, __**lilly-flower15**__, __**KShara Khan**__, __**Sea and Chaos**__, __**Ern Estine 13624**__, __**scarlettmeadows**__ and __**SerpensPrincess**__ for consistently reviewing and keeping me going!_


	17. Chapter 17

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Seventeen

Lucius Malfoy walked purposefully into the Ministry building. He was well aware of the decision he had taken over the weekend; he was equally aware of the consequences of that decision. He saw the Ministry workers part like the Red Sea before him, some groveling as he went.

"Lord Malfoy," boomed a voice behind him. He turned around to face the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, who was on the verge of being voted out of office for his failure in admitting the return of Lord Voldemort.

"Cornelius?" he asked, knowing that he was the one to hold all the cards in his hands, not this bumbling fool of a man, especially since he was only _just_ holding onto his position as Minister.

"I think we should have a little chat in my office. There are a few things I must discuss with you." Fudge replied, and Lucius, feeling the man's urgency, had no choice but to agree. _After all, it would not do to not be up to date with everything,_ Lucius mused.

They reached his new office very quickly and were soon sitting down for a cup of tea.

"How may I help you, Cornelius?"

"It has come to my attention that the Wizengamot wishes to pass a law enabling Aurors to put in wards preventing anyone with Dark Marks from entering the Ministry. I am not sure what to think of this and was wondering what your view on this matter might be. Just to get an idea which way the Wizengamot voted, that's all." Fudge said hurriedly.

Lucius leant back in his seat. In the past, his answer would probably have been immediate: no. He also knew that Fudge would get back to his sources rapidly and the outcome would be almost certain. Lucius' power in the Ministry was extremely far-reaching, and since no one knew of the Malfoy Family's change of alliance, they would follow him unquestionably.

This time, though, knowing who his son's mate was, his decision would have to be quite different. He needed to play his cards correctly; he needed to buy himself and his family enough time to be able to escape the Dark Lord's clutches.

"You are aware, Cornelius, that I possess a Dark Mark?" Lucius asked, raising an eyebrow. The fool started spluttering.

"Yes, but, you see – the Aurors –"

"I understand, do not worry. Surely there must be a way to _exempt_ me from these wards?" Lucius asked. "And those who were exonerated in previous trials?"

"The Aurors are suspicious of anyone who carried a Dark Mark."

"Naturally, I understand this suspicion, Cornelius." Lucius inclined his head slightly. His hand very slowly pulled out his wand from his cane and he started twirling it around elegantly in his fingers, a trick his was loath to use as it was one of the Dark Lord's. Seeing the way it made Fudge bluster and pale, though, was worth the indignity of doing something that Dark Lord had done to manipulate him. "Magic is very easily manipulated, especially magic such as this. I would strongly advise you against passing that law, for very obvious reasons, unless those attacked previously in previous trials are excluded from these wards."

"Give me a list of seven names, including yourself, by tomorrow and they will be excluded from the wards. I can promise you this." For once, that fool was standing up to him. Lucius cursed inwardly, but outwardly he let his wand hand still. This would necessitate a visit to the Dark Lord. "That is my last offer, Lord Malfoy."

"Very well. It shall be done, Cornelius." Lucius stood up, effectively ending the meeting. Fudge hurriedly rose again and shook Lucius' gloved hand. "It has been a pleasure, as per usual."

"Indeed, Lord Malfoy."

* * *

As he left the Ministry building, Lucius pressed his Dark Mark and felt it burn in reply. Suddenly, he was pulled away from the Ministry and into the Dark Lord's hideout.

Coughing, Lucius rose and looked around him. The area was void of human life and crawling with Dark Magic. The feel of it sent goosebumps up Lucius' arms and he slowly began his ritual of hiding his thoughts from the Dark Lord as he walked up to the Manor the Dark Lord had taken from his grandparents.

He was let in on sight by the guards at the doors. Just like in the Ministry, any Death Eaters in his way scattered as they saw him. He entered the Dark Lord's Throne Room with his head bowed and he fell to his knees as soon as he reached the bottom of the raised dais the feared lord was sitting on.

"My lord," Lucius breathed, frantically hiding all of his treacherous thoughts from the Dark Lord's reach.

"Lucius." The serpentine voice seemed to hiss out Lucius' name. There was a pause, only broken by the sound of Lucius' heavy breathing, signalling to Lord Voldemort the effort Lucius had taken to get himself here on time. "What news is so urgent that you had to press on your Mark?"

"It has come to my attention, my lord, only a few minutes ago, that the Wizengamot is prepared to pass a law enabling the Aurors to place wards around the Ministry preventing anyone with a Dark Mark from entering."

The only sign that this information perturbed Lord Voldemort was the way that the snake around his neck hissed furiously.

"I talked to the Minister, Fudge, who said that if I came up with seven names, including myself, they would all be exempted from the wards. They must be Death Eaters who were exonerated in the trials, my lord."

"That fool still has that authority?" the Dark Lord asked.

"Yes, my lord, he assured me that he did." Lucius bowed his head again. "What names shall I give them, my lord?"

"You have done well, Lucius, bringing me this information. It makes up for your failure in the Department of Mysteries." Lucius breathed out a small sigh of relief. "Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to prevent the passing of this law." Lord Voldemort sighed. "It is an _unfortunate_ side effect to my rise to power. No matter, though." Lord Voldemort hissed sibilantly at Nagini, who carefully unwound herself from his neck and slid onto the floor. Lucius swallowed. "You will not fail me on this, Lucius."

"My lord." Lucius acquiesced, feeling the tension dissipate somewhat when Nagini slithered past him.

"McNair, Yaxley, yourself, Avery, Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle."

Lucius nodded.

"That will be all, Lucius." Lord Voldemort flicked his wand and Lucius knew that he was dismissed.

"Thank you, my lord."

* * *

Lucius Apparated to Hogwarts, his list in hand and made his way to Dumbledore's office with the greatest haste. He was about to make the decision of his life.

"Dumbledore!" Lucius called, as soon as he got to the Gargoyle at the bottom of Dumbledore's office. He was glad that the students were in lessons; otherwise he would look a right fool.

Just at that moment, Harry Potter came up the stairs leading to the Headmaster's office. He had evidently just been running to the office and was breathing heavily.

"Lord Malfoy!" he exclaimed in surprise, bowing his head to his mate's father. Lucius was furious that he had come at the same time as Harry Potter.

"Mr. Potter. What have you done to be called to the Headmaster's office?" Lucius enquired, already turning away from the boy, deciding that it was not worth his time right now.

"Nothing," Potter answered, "Except be myself." He muttered under his breath, but Lucius caught the words and wondered what the child meant by that. "Fizzing Whizzbees!" he said, and the gargoyle jumped to the side. "Lord Malfoy, you may go up first. I will wait here until you are finished."

Lucius nodded briefly.

"I will let Dumbledore know that you are here."

"Thank you, Lord Malfoy."

Lucius stepped onto the steps and they led him up to the Headmaster's office, where his blasted trinkets made little sounds and sent up puffs of smoke into the air. Lucius despised the Headmaster's office, especially as Dumbledore had decked it out. If had had anything to say about it, Dumbledore would not have been Headmaster of Hogwarts. Unfortunately, this man held more power than Lucius did and had never let Lucius forget it.

"Lord Malfoy," Dumbledore said, remaining seated and gesturing to a seat in front of his desk. Lucius felt like a student who had been called in for a misdemeanour all over again. "What brings you to Hogwarts?"

"News, Professor." Lucius answered curtly. Not being in control of the situation always put him at odds. "Mr. Potter is waiting outside; he let me up first."

"Ah yes, I thought that would be why you are here and not Harry."

Lucius sat down and handed Dumbledore the list. He watched as the Headmaster's eyebrows rose and he looked carefully at Lucius over his half-moon glasses.

"Has this anything to do with the law the Wizengamot are trying to pass?" Dumbledore asked astutely.

"These are the names that the Dark Lord wishes to be exonerated."

"Ah." Dumbledore nodded as if he already knew this information. He peered at Lucius again before turning back to this list. "Thank you, Lucius."

"I did it for my son, not for you, Professor."

"I am aware of that, Lucius." Dumbledore answered. "I am not a fool, though you may take me for one."

Lucius sneered and tapped his cane on the floor impatiently. He needed to get back to Fudge.

"Mr. Potter's excursion to Malfoy Manor last weekend must be a factor in your decision to show me this list, Lucius," Dumbledore observed. "I would have found out about it either way; I am not the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot for nothing."

"I am aware of this, Professor." Lucius tapped his cane to the floor again. "I wanted to let you know that these are the Dark Lord's wishes, not mine."

"Maybe also as a warning, telling us to watch these men, hmm?" Dumbledore asked, ignoring Lucius' impatience. "And maybe telling us of the change in your allegiances?"

"My allegiances are my own business." Lucius replied defensively.

"Not where they concern Harry Potter, they are not." Dumbledore replied quickly. "I will be watching your son, Lucius. Any sign of foul play and you will not want to know the consequences."

"I know what you do to your enemies, Professor. I am not a fool either." Lucius pointed out. "You know why my son invited Mr. Potter out, Professor. As you said, you're not a fool." Lucius rose. "I have business elsewhere, Professor. Read into this note what you will, but you won't know the full story."

"I have no intention of doing so." Dumbledore gave Lucius back the piece of paper and smiled benignly at his former student, as he looked him over carefully. "Be careful, Lucius. Remember that you are playing with people's lives here."

Lucius whirled around and left the office.

_After all, I know that you're playing with my life as well, old man. It's all one big gamble to you, hinging on my son's mate. _Lucius thought as he passed Mr. Potter, refusing to even meet his eye.

* * *

Harry entered Professor Dumbledore's office after Lord Malfoy, refusing to read into the aloof treatment he had received. After all, appearances had to be maintained. He also admitted that seeing the lord looking just a bit flustered after a meeting with Dumbledore made him slightly satisfied.

_That's my father you're thinking about, Potter._ Draco's voice spoke into his mind sarcastically.

They were working through the bond step by step. Feeling Draco's mind in his was comforting, a steady presence to rely on and something solid in his life. Sharing images and dreams had been a bit more disconcerting, and Harry had had to catch himself numerous times before Ron and Hermione when Draco had unwittingly turned on the switched vision and Harry had for a moment been in the Slytherin Common Room, talking with Pansy Parkinson.

Overall, though, this best thing about the bond was their ability to share thoughts. They were working on shielding their thoughts from time to time, but as the bond was still new, stray thoughts sometimes broke through when they weren't thinking too hard about blocking their connection. It wasn't intrusive, as some bonds were, and neither of them spied on the other's thoughts, so overall it was a boost. Draco's sardonic comments in the classes they shared were also a very welcome distraction from things such as Snape's persecution of him in class.

_Sorry, _Harry answered back. _I think it was something important. You might want to send him a letter. Be careful, though._

_I'm always careful, _Draco answered, and the dragon on Harry's wrist turned around in a huff, so that all Harry could see was its wings.

_Draco, don't be like that,_ Harry said, laughing to himself.

_I can feel your amusement. _

_Well, you can think up a penalty while I'm talking to Professor Dumbledore._

_I can think of plenty._

Harry blushed vividly, and took a moment to compose himself before he went back up the stairs. Their relationship had also developed somewhat; to the point where when they were alone they almost never stopped touching each other. Harry was willing to admit that it was a very successful distraction.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir." Harry said, walking into the office. "I am sorry for my delay."

"Lord Malfoy made me aware of your situation, Harry." Professor Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Do sit down."

Harry sat down.

"Why am I here, sir?" he asked, looking around the office for Fawkes.

"Fawkes is out today, Harry," Professor Dumbledore answered Harry's questioning look. "Lemon drop?"

"No, thank you, Professor." Harry declined politely.

_Stupid lemon drops._

_Shut up, Draco. If you make me laugh you'll regret it._

"I think that you must have some idea why I'm here, Harry." Professor Dumbledore leant back comfortably in his seat.

"I assume that it's something to do with my weekend, Professor." Harry replied.

_Do I tell him? _He asked Draco.

_No, not about the soul bond. The Veela, yes. _Draco replied seriously.

"Indeed, my boy." Professor Dumbledore answered, smiling again. "Why were you invited out? Last time I checked, you and Mr. Malfoy were not on the best of terms."

_Depends what you call 'best of terms', old man. _Draco whispered into Harry's mind, unabashedly spying on Harry's meeting.

"Draco came into his inheritance over the summer, sir." Harry answered. "I happened to be his mate."

"Veela, I guess?" Professor Dumbledore queried, looking interested.

_How can he best manipulate this situation, I wonder? _Draco asked rhetorically. Harry shushed him again, sending amusement down their bond.

"Yes, Professor." Harry smiled. "It took him a while to find me, but I'll give him that I didn't make it easy for him."

"You don't make many things easy, my boy." Professor Dumbledore twinkled at him again. "Tell me, have you both bonded?"

"In every aspect?" Harry asked, the beginning of a blush creeping up his neck as Professor Dumbledore nodded. "Not every, Professor. In the ways that matter, yes."

_That is an intrusive question he has no right to ask. _Harry could feel Draco's anger boiling, his mate's Veela rushing to the surface at the Headmaster's question.

_Calm down, Draco. You're thinking up ways I can make up for my earlier error, remember?_

Draco calmed down in Harry mind, but the anger was still boiling, if the curve of steam on his skin crawling up his wrist was any indication.

"You must be the reason for Lord Malfoy's change in allegiances." The Headmaster observed.

_That was quick. _Draco's surprise evaporated his anger. _My father worked quickly._

"What do you mean, Professor?" Harry asked, just as interested as Draco.

"Things will start moving forwards very soon, Harry, very soon." Professor Dumbledore looked piercingly at Harry for a moment, before leaning forward and looking at him seriously. "How is the DA going, my boy?"

"The DA?" Harry asked incredulously. "What do you mean, sir?"

"I would like you to start teaching your fellow students again. Those you trust."

"You think…?" Harry asked, trailing off. Draco had gone completely silent in his mind, but Harry knew that he was listening avidly.

"I think many things, my boy, and on this occasion I think that it would be advisable to train your fellow students." Professor Dumbledore smiled brightly again. "With my full permission, of course, this time. No creeping around."

"Very well, Professor." Harry said, standing up.

"Have a good day, Harry."

"You too, Professor."

* * *

_A/N:__ Thoughts?_


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N:__ For anyone who wants Ginny bashing, this is the wrong story. I don't like bashing as a rule, and remember that Ginny did __**not**__go out with Harry until the middle of his Sixth Year. Before that, she has __**no claim**__ to him. Thank you also to **Sea and Chaos** for reading this over!_

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Eighteen

"Start the DA again?" Hermione asked, looking around at the people in the room. Harry was looking sheepishly at her as he sat on a desk, Luna was looking vague and not-quite-there, humming a tune to herself, Ron was doing a very accurate impression of a goldfish, Ginny was looking very skeptical and Neville was completely expressionless, seemingly stunned into silence by Harry's declaration.

"That's what Dumbledore said, Hermione." Harry answered, shrugging. "I'm not about to question him as to _why_ and _how_, but if he says that it was important, then I assume that it is."

"Well, of course it is if Dumbledore said so!" Ginny said. "But there's something else, isn't there, Harry?" she asked shrewdly. Harry shot a glance at her.

"Don't worry," Luna said brightly, stopping her humming abruptly. Everyone looked at her. Ron had decided that a goldfish was too low-key and had gone for a basking shark instead. "I know that secrets are hard to keep, but you'll be safe from everything if you only trust."

"Thanks, Luna." Harry said seriously. Luna smiled brightly and continued looking at him with unwavering concentration that unnerved Harry slightly. "Erm…well…I think we should allow Slytherins."

"_What_?" Ron exploded, finally breaking his silence. Hermione shot him a very nasty look and he hastily started mumbling apologies.

"What do you mean by that, Harry?" Neville asked from his corner of the room. Harry looked at him gratefully.

"The whole reason we're in this mess of a war is because of prejudice, isn't it? The feeling that Muggleborns are less than purebloods and half-bloods are only _just_ acceptable – because how dare a pureblood marry a Muggleborn and taint his bloodline so?" Harry asked rhetorically. "Well if we nip that in the bud before it starts…"

"How do we know which ones to trust, though, Harry? You make excellent points, but it doesn't detract from the fact that V-Voldemort primarily recruits from Slytherin families because they're pureblood." Ginny pointed out.

Harry took a deep breath and rubbed his arm absently. He felt the dragon on his wrist move and affection seep down their bond. Draco was busy at the moment, but some of his frustration and nervousness must have crept along their bond and Draco had replied unconsciously to that.

"I know a Slytherin that I can trust absolutely." He answered. There were numerous raised eyebrows in the room, but surprisingly, Ron and Hermione only looked at him very carefully, feeling the magnitude of what he was about to reveal. "But you've all got to swear to not tell anyone else what I tell you. If we allow him to tell us who to trust and then let them into the DA, I'm going to ask him to behave as if we're not more than we are, so I implore you all to please keep it quiet."

Neville was the first to slip out his wand, followed by Luna, Ron, Hermione, and finally Ginny, who placed it with a little reluctance beside the other wands. Harry slid off his desk and touched the tip of his wand to the other wands. A beam of blue light joined all of the wands to Harry's.

"I invoke this Oath of Secrecy, that no one can reveal what I am about to say until the Oath is repealed. So mote it be." Harry intoned.

"So mote it be." The others replied solemnly. Their wands flashed brightly with a white light before it disappeared. Everyone pocketed their wands and looked at Harry expectantly.

"You know how some people come into creature inheritances on their sixteenth birthday?" he asked. There was nodding all around from everyone; Harry wasn't sure why he was surprised that Hermione knew. "Well this person became a Veela and I became his mate."

There was complete silence for a moment, before Luna started giggling softly. Harry looked over at her, offended, before he saw that she was laughing at Neville's face.

"I don't know what's more surprising, Harry – that you're a Veela's mate or that you're gay." Ginny said, collapsing onto a chair.

"It makes sense." Neville said suddenly, looking piercingly at Harry. "It all makes sense."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Do you mind if we know who the Veela is?" Neville asked nervously. Harry shook his head quickly.

"It's Malfoy." Luna said dreamily, putting her wand behind her ear. Neville looked triumphant, Ron and Hermione like something had just been officially confirmed for them, and Ginny was silent.

"Yeah, you're right." Harry replied, waiting for other people to say something.

"You are aware of the Malfoy-Weasley feud, aren't you, Harry?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I said that to Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, looking very pleased with himself. "And then she told me that I already see Harry as a brother; why can't he be the one to break this feud between us?"

"We're happy for you, Harry, we really are." Hermione said, smiling. Harry glanced over a Ginny again. She gave him a quick grin and he relaxed.

"Can we see your wrist now, Harry?" Luna asked suddenly. Harry swallowed, not even thinking about how Luna knew, and rolled up his sleeve. The dragon, which had been curled around his wrist, slumbering, woke up and stood proudly, its back arched and its head proud. His friends gathered around it and Hermione looked up at him abruptly and gave a beaming smile, mouthing, _"You've made it"_.

* * *

Draco made a noise in the back of his throat and looked at his mate. He wasn't sure what to think of his latest declaration.

"And you're certain that we won't be persecuted?" he asked. Harry sighed and stretched out further on the sofa.

"Look, Draco, I can't guarantee anything. I've told the people who matter and they'll try their best. Some people don't have as good an excuse as we do to put our past differences behind us." Harry answered. Draco growled angrily, and let his frustration bleed through their bond on purpose. He wanted Harry to know _just_ how annoying his answer was.

"I can't bring my Slytherins into a hostile situation." Draco announced. "You'll just have to deal with that."

"And I won't, Draco! _Your Slytherins_ have created many hostile situations in the past as well. I'm not saying the other houses are perfect, but I _am_ saying that Slytherin is most certainly not as victimised as you're portraying it to be." Harry retorted. The falcon on Draco's wrist was ruffling its feathers haughtily.

"Maybe you're right, Harry, but we _would_ be the victims if we joined your DA and I can't rightfully allow that." Draco answered, turning his back to Harry. He locked his Veela and the thoughts in his mind saying that Harry had a point in a very tight box at the back of his mind.

"You wouldn't be the victims, Draco, if the Slytherins you brought to the DA were ones you trusted with your life. Like Parkinson and Zabini," Harry pointed out, calming down slightly when he saw how much he had rubbed his boyfriend up the wrong way.

"What can you do to guarantee their safety?" Draco asked, refusing to looked at Harry, but making his voice softer.

"I'll talk to the DA. Most people in there I trust. Marietta Edgecombe and Zacharias Smith will just have to deal with it."

"Marietta betrayed you." Draco stated.

"Yes." Harry said steadily. "She did, Draco, but there's a war out there if you haven't noticed! And I'm going to play a massive part in it. The least I can do for these people who are _dying_ for this cause is to train as many as possible to fight so that we at least have a _chance_. Draco, I'm offering this to you as an olive branch between the houses." Harry pleaded. "For the most part, we've put our enmity to good use fuelling aspects of our relationship," Harry blushed, but continued on. "And it's time that Slytherin wasn't always treated as the bad side. You guys have skills we can put to use."

"But _their safety_!"

"Well I don't _care_, Draco!" Harry shouted. "We're going to be fighting there anyway and if your Slytherins can fight back well enough then they'll get the DA's respect and be treated normally. You guys have _bullied_, Draco. People don't just forget that overnight, not unless they've got good reason to, like we do between us. And I've been teased by these people, Merlin knows Smith has some reason to despise me – but I'm still their leader at the end of the day because I've proved myself."

There was a pause, broken by Harry's heavy breathing. Draco stayed doggedly silent before turning around to face Harry again. His face was completely impassive and he looked every inch the Malfoy Heir that he was. Harry was scared of his mate for the first time ever.

"When did you say the meeting was?" Draco asked.

"Tomorrow, seven o'clock, Room of Requirement. Just walk past thinking _"I need Dumbledore's Army"_." Harry answered nervously.

"I don't know if I'll be there." Draco said evenly. "I suppose you'll find out."

There was a clear dismissal in Draco's words, and, trying not to feel hurt by the callousness his boyfriend was displaying, Harry picked up his bag and left Draco's office.

Draco Malfoy collapsed onto his desk chair and put his head into his hands. His Veela burst out of the box and started berating him furiously, but the wizard in Draco knew that this had been necessary between them. The issue of their Houses was such a massive one that it would have blown up sooner or later. Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was sorry that he and Harry had argued and that they had left like that. He stroked the falcon's back comfortingly and the bird looked slightly more mollified. He wasn't ready to apologise yet; but he supposed that his actions would speak louder than words.

* * *

Harry clapped his hand together and looked at the assembled crowd in front of him. Mostly everyone from last year was back, including Zacharias Smith, but Marietta Edgecombe had chosen not to return. The Weasley twins, Angelina, Alicia and Lee Jordan had of course left Hogwarts so weren't in it anymore.

"Right, everyone! If I could have your attention please!" Harry shouted above the noise. Everyone went silent and looked at him. "Right, before we get started, I want you all to tell me what the DA is supposed to be for."

"Learning to fight!" Seamus Finnigan cried out.

"Defense!" Ginny said.

"Staying together!" Colin Creevey said, jumping up and down.

"Friendship, Harry, isn't it?" Luna asked. Harry nodded at her.

"It's for all of those reasons and more that we have the DA. We're here to ensure that Voldemort doesn't get to Hogwarts. But most of all, we're here to stand together. And that's why when Dumbledore asked me to reinstate the DA, he asked me something else." Harry took a deep breath and hoped that the bombshell wouldn't explode too loudly. "He wanted us to join together as four united Houses. He asked that we include Slytherin."

There was an immediate outcry and Harry let it go on for a few moments before raising his hand.

"My father was part of a group of four and they were all extraordinarily close. When he had to go into hiding, he asked one of them to be his Secret Keeper. That same Secret Keeper betrayed them and he was a Gryffindor. Are you all saying that all of Slytherin is bad? It's like saying Hufflepuff is weak because they don't fight – that's not true. Cedric Diggory fought and he died. You can't generalise someone because of the House they're in. It's true that most of the Death Eaters came from Slytherin, but that's because Slytherin picks out those who are purebloods. Not everyone, mind you, but it does, and Voldemort only chooses from purebloods." Harry looked around the whole room. Everyone was deathly silent. Hermione was smiling widely and Ron looked like all of his long-cherished beliefs were collapsing around him.

"But Harry, how do we know that the Slytherins who come will be the ones we can trust?" Susan Bones asked.

"Because Dumbledore guaranteed that those who would choose to come will prove themselves in a way that leaves no doubt." Harry answered. Of course, Dumbledore had done no such thing; but Harry knew that even if he and Draco had fought, Draco would not do such a heinous thing as to betray Harry's trust.

There was a knock at the door and it opened slowly. Draco stepped into the Room of Requirement, his head held very high. Behind him, Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle entered, followed by Millicent Bulstrode, Helena Wormwood, Richard Durocher, Astoria Greengrass and Daphne Greengrass. The Slytherins looked at the rest of the DA in a silent standoff, before Draco broke it with his lazy, affected drawl from his Malfoy training.

"I was led to believe that there was a gathering here of people who opposed the Dark Lord?" he asked. "Potter?" he challenged. Harry almost wanted to grin; this was as good as an apology from Draco.

"How do we know you're not a spy if you call You-Know-Who 'the Dark Lord'? Don't his minions call him that?" Zacharias Smith sneered. Draco looked impassive, but suddenly Smith found himself pinned against the wall and his wand clattering to the ground. Everyone looked impressed at this form of wandless magic, except Harry. He had felt the questioning tug at his own magic and forgiving his boyfriend, he had given Draco enough magic for him to perform the charm wandlessly.

"Slytherins, roll up your sleeves." Draco ordered. All the Slytherins obeyed as one. Every single forearm was unMarked. "We're here to fight against him. After all, the Dark Lord is a half-blood, not a pureblood." Draco smirked. "And I would only bow to someone with the purest of blood."

Harry knew that what Draco said was only partly true; Harry had told him of the graveyard he had been transported to at the end of the Third Task and his suspicions of Voldemort's blood purity, but he knew that Draco was not the blood purist he portrayed himself as.

"Now, are we going to learn how to fight or am I going to have to pin all of you to walls?" he asked.

"Right, everyone!" Harry said. "I want you all to partner up. Try and partner up with someone from a different house. Patil twins, you don't count." They smiled ruefully. "If you really can't find someone from a different house, then go for your own house, but only once you've made sure that there's no one left over. Malfoy, you're with me."

Draco nodded and Harry felt their Mind Link open as everyone started milling around.

_Thank you, Harry. I should have trusted you._ Draco's voice whispered contritely.

_It was bound to happen sometime._ Harry said pragmatically. Draco rolled his eyes and let his exasperation be known obviously. _I'm glad we got that out of the way._

_I trusted you and it wasn't as bad as you said it would be. _Draco's eyes roved around the room, looking at who his Slytherins had paired up with.

Hermione had been approached by Pansy, Blaise by Ginny. Ron took on Richard Durocher and Seamus and Dean went for Crabbe and Goyle respectively. Daphne Greengrass had tentatively approached Susan Bones, and they were now having a rather energetic conversation. An enthusiastic Colin Creevey had latched onto Astoria Greengrass. Helena Wormwood and Padma Patil made an unlikely pair, which seemed to be going rather well and Lavender had gone for Millicent Bulstrode. The rest of the DA teamed up and soon they were all looking at Harry expectantly.

"Right, today we're going to play as teams. Everyone, find two other pairs." Harry joined up with Hermione and Ron.

_An acceptable team. At least we have Pansy. _Draco said, assessing everyone critically. _And I suppose Granger can't be that bad._

_She's your partner as Head Girl, don't be an idiot._ Harry said fondly.

When everyone was ready, Harry thought carefully for some non-permanent way for each team to be marked. The Room of Requirement helpfully provided some bibs and expanded the Room quite significantly.

"I'm going to ask the room to put up obstacles so that we can't all see each other so easily. Then, we're going to have a mock battle. The team with the most people standing after half an hour wins. Non-permanent and non-lethal spells. Anyone who does anything with overly malicious intent will be reported to their Head of House and expelled from the DA." Harry looked around for a whistle, spotted one, picked it up and blew it hard.

The Room suddenly sprouted numerous obstacles and the battle began.

* * *

_A/N:__ Hope you enjoyed it!_


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N:__ Now, I'm __**not**__ trying to create a Super!Harry or something like that, but I would like to point out that I buy into the idea that Harry __**must**__ be quite powerful if he can defeat Voldemort. I don't think that it's only love that can defeat Voldemort, though that's a large part of it. _

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Nineteen

The Room of Requirement became a sanctuary. Harry had not intended it that way, but soon members of the DA started going there even when there was no meeting. They would call up the DA room, and ask for books, bring food with them, or simply lie next to a fireplace that had been conjured and talk to whoever was there. It forged deep, powerful bonds between the members, and Harry knew that everyone in the DA had accepted the Slytherins as one of their own.

"I suppose I'll concede this one victory to you." Draco said, lounging elegantly on a chair in his study, his feet thrown onto the desk in front of him and throwing an apple up into the air. Harry was sitting on the sofa, eating a treacle tart he had sneaked from the kitchens. They were discussing the DA, as they often did now.

"One victory?" Harry scoffed, pausing from his delectable tart. "Draco, I am superior to you in every way."

"I'm sure you think you are." Draco turned up his nose. "Seriously, though, Harry, the DA has done wonders for my Slytherins and I know that even if they don't tell you, they really appreciate everything you've done for them."

"They were good enough on their own. We're all human." Harry smiled comfortingly at Draco. "You Slytherins shove everyone aside because you feel that you have to, you refuse to show any weakness. The DA's about forging bonds that will mean that you have people on your side who will step in for you when you're feeling a bit wobbly."

The dragon on Harry's wrist curled itself around Harry's wrist even tighter in gratitude that Draco found difficult to acknowledge. Harry stroked it gently with his free hand, balancing his spoon precariously on top of the pot his treacle tart was in. Draco smiled from where he was sitting.

Their bond had increased again over the weeks. Now, they could unconsciously tap into what the other person was feeling, and surface thoughts from the other person were always present at the back of their minds, though they were easy to ignore. They could block each other out easily, though they had yet to do this properly, and when one stroked the animal they had on their wrist, the other felt whatever emotion the person stroking the wrist was feeling.

"You're welcome, you prat." Harry grinned and swivelled around on the sofa. He put his half-eaten treacle tart on the coffee table and strode over to Draco, wrapping an arm casually around his shoulders. Draco's hand, the one which was not holding the apple, squeezed Harry's arm back.

"How's your father doing?" Harry then asked, knowing that Lucius Malfoy was treading very dangerous waters now. Harry's free hand snaked up to hold onto the ring he had hanging on a necklace.

"He's living dangerously." Draco snorted, then fell silent. "I'm worried about him, Harry."

"Come here, Dragon." Harry whispered, standing up and holding his arms out. Draco unravelled himself elegantly and stood up, then almost fell into Harry's outstretched arms. Harry's pet name for his boyfriend had come about due to the dragon on his wrist, and after Draco had started calling him '_mon amour_', 'my love' in French. Draco had argued that 'my love' was too mainstream for him, and '_mon amour_' more sophisticated. Harry just thought that Draco liked to use to opportunity to remind Harry that he was completely fluent in another language.

Both of them were still testing out the waters on how often they could use them and when they would be comfortable using them. So far, Harry had had more success with 'Dragon' and Draco was still reluctant to use '_mon amour_', worried that he would accidentally slip up and call Harry that in public.

"Your father knows how to take care of himself." Harry murmured into Draco's ear. "It shouldn't be your responsibility to worry."

Draco nodded against Harry's shoulder. Unconsciously, his wings burst out, dislodging Harry's hands, which merely slid under the wings to wrap back around his boyfriend's back. The wings then wrapped themselves tightly around both Harry and Draco, holding them in comfortable semi-darkness.

"I know…I just can't help worrying. If he dies…oh Harry, if Father dies I'm left with Malfoy Manor…and without my father there to guide me."

"Shh, Dragon, your father's too clever to let anything happen to him, don't worry."

* * *

Lucius Malfoy, as it happened, was not feeling very clever. In fact, he was feeling rather idiotic. His wife was pacing in front of him, looking rather harried. Lucius crooned in the back of his throat, his Veela simmering below the surface, trying to appease his angry mate.

"No, Lucius, I refuse to allow you to do that. I will _not_ be brought down from this." Narcissa turned onto her husband, her eyes flashing fire. "What on Earth are you thinking, Lucius, playing double agent? That's Severus' job, not yours! Are you _trying_ to get your son and me killed?"

This time, Lucius whimpered, his Veela objecting very strongly to Narcissa's question. In one fluid motion, he went over to his wife and wrapped his strong arms around her and kissed the top of her head. Narcissa still stood stiffly, but her hands were clutching his forearms in a death grip, so Lucius kept hugging her.

"I know you're scared, my flower," he whispered into her hair.

"I'm terrified, Luce. I'm absolutely petrified. Severus has no family to think of. The only people who would miss him would be the three of us and possibly Dumbledore. He views us as good friends, but not as family. You have a son and a wife to think of, and the Malfoy Family."

Lucius did not reply, instead he carded his hands through his wife's long hair. He knew what risk he was taking; after all, he had seen Severus in meetings with the other Death Eaters. He needed to feel out the ground properly, though, before making his new alliance public. Harry Potter may be his son's mate, but he wasn't going to risk his life unnecessarily unless he was certain that the Light Side would win.

"I have seen Potter's power, Cissa, but that's only Potter. He has no army at his disposal, unlike the Dark Lord." Lucius rubbed his hand in comforting circles around her back. Narcissa clutched her husband's sleeves as if her life depended on it.

"Talk to Draco. If anyone knows anything about Potter, Draco will." Narcissa said softly. "I don't want to see my family killed, Luce."

* * *

Neville flopped onto a chair in the Room of Requirement and sighed. Across from him, Susan Bones and Pansy Parkinson collapsed. They had just participated in a particularly exhausting three-way duel – which Susan had won – and were in dire need of a rest. Susan pulled out some éclairs from a napkin and placed them on a table that had suddenly appeared. Neville and Pansy tucked in happily, thanking Susan around mouthfuls.

"We're not strong enough." Pansy observed after a pause. Susan looked across at the Slytherin girl and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we're most of us wonderful at duelling, but for those who aren't, we need to find another way for them to defend themselves. What natural defenses does Hogwarts have?" Pansy asked. Neville had a vague idea where she was going with this and leant forward in his seat.

"The plants in the greenhouses will attack any intruders if the correct incantation is said. Professor Sprout told it to me the other day." Neville said. Pansy nodded to acknowledge what he had said.

"The suits of armour will be able to defend Hogwarts, and the staircases will throw off any intruders, with the correct incantation, I remember my aunt telling me." Susan said, referring to her aunt, Madam Bones.

"There's got to be other things!" Pansy exclaimed.

"Maybe if we ask Hermione; she's read everything there is in the library about Hogwarts. Maybe some of the Muggleborns can incorporate some Muggle techniques into our fighting!" Neville said excitedly, rising from his seat. He pulled out his DA Galleon and started shaking it frantically. It would send out a signal to every other DA Galleon to meet in the Room of Requirement.

A few minutes later, all the DA was gathered in the Room, all of them looking confused. Harry arrived moments after Malfoy and everyone went silent when he entered.

"What is this about, Neville?" Harry asked. His Galleon had the ability to tell him who had shaken the Galleon calling them all there – an ability that Hermione had put in after a lot of twiddling.

"Is everyone here?" he asked, and everyone looked around, and then nodded affirmatively. "Right. So Pansy, Susan and I were discussing Hogwarts' natural defenses in case of attack, and realised that the only natural defenses Hogwarts has are its plants, staircases and suits of armour. We need more than that. What can we incorporate into Hogwarts to so that she can adequately defend herself?"

Harry nodded approvingly at Neville, who beamed, and marched forward to stand next to him. Neville was immensely pleased that this idea was accepted by the _de facto_ leader of the whole organisation and happily ceded his place to Harry so that Harry could start actually putting his idea into place.

"Okay, so everybody split into the same groups we use for the duelling activities and come up with ideas among yourselves and write them down!" Harry called out, and soon there was a great cacophony of sounds coming from all over the room, including the occasional puff of bright smoke.

Ron was the first to come up with an idea.

"You know how Fred and George have developed their Defense Against the Dark Arts section in their shop? I bet if we asked them to make some stuff for Hogwarts they'd rise to the challenge. We could also incorporate what they already have. You know their Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder?" Hermione, Pansy, Richard, Draco and Harry all nodded. "They could maybe develop some sort of spell the defenders could use to see through it but the attackers couldn't?"

"Those are brilliant ideas, Ron." Harry said, grinning widely. "Anyone have a quill?"

Richard magically pulled one out of the air, in addition to some parchment, and Ron's idea was written down. The next one came from Hermione.

"What about if we used potions?" she asked. "Like Dungbombs, except filled with poisonous potions that would explode on the enemy. I'm sure that Draco, maybe, you could come up with some pretty nasty ones."

"I don't know." Draco tapped the side of his head and glanced at Hermione. "What about antidotes?"

"You don't think that Voldemort will have a bunch of antidotes handy, do you?" Ron asked, snorting. "Somehow I doubt it."

"Well, if we talked to the teachers about this…" Pansy whispered. "I think that Professor Snape is in charge of the potions for the Dark Lord, but he could always be talked into creating false antidotes."

Everyone in the little group was silent. They were all well aware that Dumbledore had protected Snape from being sent to Azkaban, but none of them were certain that Dumbledore's trust wasn't misplaced.

"We'll have to go to a teacher about this eventually," Harry answered eventually, "And Dumbledore will here about this, so he will be able to see if that idea has merit. But otherwise I think that Hermione's idea is perfect. We can find potions – or people who are good at potions can find potions – that act quickly but which have an antidote that the defenders can take."

They all bent over the parchment again.

* * *

At the end of the session, many ideas were produced. The group with Colin Creevey had come up with water pistols that could squirt potions at people, similar to Hermione's idea. Another group had come up with the suggestion that somehow Hogwarts' innate magic be tapped into and the castle itself could confuse the attackers.

"I don't know how that would be possible." Harry said, looking at the idea. "It's a brilliant idea, but just _how _do you tap into Hogwarts' innate magic?" he asked. Draco, who was lying comfortably on his lap, shrugged. Everyone who was left – Ron, Hermione, Neville, Pansy and Blaise – knew about their relationship and had become more and more comfortable with it as the weeks went on.

"I have an idea." Neville said, putting up his hand meekly. Blaise slapped it down and Neville glared at him, looking affronted.

"We're not in class, you dolt."

"Well, it's said that I'm the Heir of Hufflepuff – or at least that my line is the last descending line of Hufflepuff. If there are at least two descendants of the Founders in Hogwarts at the same time, then they could potentially tap into Hogwarts' innate magic."

There was a pause, only broken by the crackling fire. Then Pansy broke the silence.

"I like your idea, Longbottom, but where are we going to simply _find_ another descendent?"

"That shouldn't be too difficult." Neville said easily. "My Gran always said that Hogwarts will find her descendants when the time is right. We will find out soon."

"That's all very well, but how soon is soon? We're on a bit of a time limit, here." Draco muttered from where he was lying down. Harry massaged his shoulder gently and Draco relaxed.

"Neville, could you maybe…ask Hogwarts?" Harry asked, feeling foolish. "While we're in here? The Room of Requirement seems to be the personification of Hogwarts' desire to provide her students will all they will ever need."

"I could try." Neville looked dubiously at Harry but clambered to his feet anyway. He bowed his head and clasped his hands and for some reason nobody could bring up the willpower to say anything sarcastic, not even Pansy Parkinson. "Hogwarts, Protector of Students, I ask you, as Heir to the line of Helga Hufflepuff, one of the Founders, to give us a sign that there is another Heir here who can help us. We are in mortal peril and we ask for your protection."

There was no reply for a moment, then the fire behind everyone seemed to come to life and rose up impressively, before bearing down on Harry and engulfing him, pulling him into the vortex of power that the castle was demonstrating.

Draco's wings burst out of his back, to the surprise of everyone, and he yelled out. His hands burned bright blue with Veela fire and just as he was about to spell the fire away, it disappeared, leaving Harry lying on the ground, a sword beside him and a streak of red showing from under his sleeve. Tenderly, Draco extinguished the fire and pulled back the sleeve. Gryffindor's shield stood proudly on Harry's opposite wrist to Draco's dragon, the lion's tail being what had peeked out from under his sleeve.

Neville suddenly shouted and everyone turned to look at him. Hufflepuff's shield was forming on Neville's arm.

"Well, I think that we have our answer now." Ron said, looking a little shell-shocked.

* * *

_A/N:__ I __**know **__that Harry's not related to Gryffindor, I've checked the family trees, but for the purposes of this fic he will be. This does not magically make him amazingly powerful._


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: I apologise for how short this chapter is. I'll make it up to you in the following chapter, don't worry!_

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Twenty

Hogwarts had been asleep for eons. Ever since the death of the last of the Founders, she had lain dormant, waiting to be used again. And Harry and Neville _felt_ this. They felt her sadness, her loneliness and her desire to help the inhabitants who relied on her. Neville could feel her as he ran his hand along the stones, her magic enveloping him and comforting him. Harry felt something similar, and he also felt that the castle held new respect for him. The stairs seemed to obey his command: the other day, he had angrily said that he wished that the stairs would stop moving, and none of them would change until he had taken back his wish. When he had been looking for Ron, he had somehow known, without the Marauder's Map, that he was in the Owlery sending a letter to Fred and George about his suggestions in the DA meeting.

Draco was fascinated by his powers, and a little bit jealous that Harry had Gryffindor's crest on him, marking Harry in the same way that his dragon marked Harry's other wrist. Fire was Gryffindor's affinity, and Harry was learning how to control it. Neville had discovered that the plants responded automatically to him and he had only to stroke a plant and it would grow for him – or produce fruit; really, they would do anything for Neville.

In Hogwarts, everything was looking up, but for Lucius Malfoy doubts were starting to settle in about choosing the Light Side. With this in mind, he wrote a letter to his son asking to meet him in Hogsmeade that weekend. Draco had asked Lucius to meet him in Hogwarts instead, saying that there was something extremely important he needed to show his father.

Thus, it was an exasperated Lucius Malfoy who entered Hogwarts that weekend. And some instinct stopped him from knocking when he reached his son's door. Instead, he stood there, his hand raised, and listened to the voices coming from inside.

"I don't know, Dragon." That was Potter's voice – Lucius would recognise it anywhere. The nickname, said with an affectionate tinge to Potter's voice, surprised Lucius. "The Unforgivables are just that, Unforgivable."

"Harry, I know. But the only experience many of those students will have had with them is via Mad-Eye Moody and even then that wasn't enough. You've got to teach them." That was Draco, sounding ridiculously stubborn. Lucius knew that his son meant business, but in that moment he felt like he was missing something massive. Why were his son and his son's mate discussing the Unforgivables? Lucius knocked.

It was Potter who opened the door to Draco's study. His eyebrow disappeared very rapidly into his hairline when he saw Lucius, but he said nothing and stepped aside for him. Lucius nodded at him briefly and strode in. His son was dressed extremely casually and his hair wasn't even brushed, something that Lucius noted made his son look more relaxed and less uptight.

"Father." Draco said, standing up and walking over to Lucius. Lucius looked at him piercingly.

"Your casual robes are not casual enough for you, Draco?" Lucius asked, deliberately scanning his son's body. Draco flushed in shame and Lucius heard Potter make a move behind him. He turned around slowly to see an indignant look on his son's mate's face. He raised an eyebrow at Potter, challenging him. Potter moved to stand beside Draco in a move calculated to show Lucius that _he_ was now the most important person in Draco's life; the one that Draco would listen to above Lucius. Draco seemed to take courage from his mate's presence and a small smile graced his face for a moment.

"I was not expecting you so early, Father." Draco answered instead, the implication that Draco could not be his true self around his father loud and very, very clear. Lucius gave his son a half-smile, proud of his subtlety. Potter watched the exchange in confusion, but a glance from Draco seemed to alleviate any of his worries. "Please sit down."

"Should I go, Draco?" Potter asked, hovering nervously by the arm of Draco's chair. Draco looked up at Potter and a long moment filled with meaning passed between both of them. Potter suddenly grinned and tucked a strand of Draco's hair behind his ear in a movement so intimate that Lucius almost wanted to look away.

"Come back in half an hour." Draco answered out loud, squeezing Potter's hand. Potter nodded and after a moment of hesitation, kissed the side of Draco's temple. Lucius watched as his son seemed to melt against Potter at the kiss and Lucius remembered how when he had first been courting Narcissa, any intimate touch from her felt like he had been handed the food of the gods. Potter nodded tersely at Lucius, and walked out, closing the door softly behind him. There was silence for a few moments before Lucius turned back to his son.

"Why did you ask me to come to Hogwarts, Draco?" he asked. Draco stroked the inside of his wrist in an unconscious movement, and Lucius caught sight of a flash of colour underneath his top. He filed the information away for later, but said nothing.

"Firstly, I didn't particularly want to walk to Hogsmeade." Draco flashed Lucius a cheeky smile, to which Lucius gave a huff of laughter. "Secondly, my room is much safer than any private booth we could have been offered in Hogsmeade, Father. Thirdly, I've got news you might like. But why did _you_ want to see _me_, Father?"

"To be blunt, Draco," Lucius said, leaning back in his seat and touching his fingers to one another, "I don't know if supporting the Light Side is worth my while. The Dark Lord actually has competent followers who actually do something to further his doctrine, and he's a powerful, attractive leader."

"And the only man the Dark Lord ever feared isn't?" Draco asked, looking worried. Lucius could well understand his position. If Lucius refused to support the Light Side, then Draco would probably have to be disowned.

"Dumbledore does not give off that same vibe the Dark Lord does. And I was there when the Dark Lord rose to power; I am one of his original followers. I have a position of influence and power and I don't particularly want to give it up unless I feel like I am in a strong position. Currently, I don't trust your mate, Draco."

At that, Draco's eyes narrowed and Lucius could see his internal battle and his struggle to contain his Veela. Lucius knew that Draco's Veela saw him as a threat to his mate and wanted him eliminated. Suddenly, Draco seemed to sag in his seat and a wry smile appeared on his face. Lucius was astonished by the sudden change in his son's demeanour and noticed that Draco was once again stroking his wrist.

"Does Mother know?" Draco asked quietly.

"No." Lucius' Veela decided to make its frustration that Lucius was going against his mate's wishes known and Lucius winced at the rather angry onslaught of magic he received. "I will, though, once I am certain of my allegiance."

"Dumbledore does have an army, Father, and Hogwarts is defended." Draco replied. Lucius looked at his son in surprise and motioned for him to continue. "In our fifth year, under Dolores Umbridge, Harry set up an undercover club called the DA, or, in other words, Dumbledore's Army, as that was the Ministry's greatest fear at the time. The…incident in the Department of Mysteries that you rather sneakily got out of going to Azkaban for," at this, Draco and Lucius shared a conspiratorial smile, and Lucius relaxed in his seat. "Well, that involved some of the DA members.

"This year, Harry resurrected the DA, but at Dumbledore's request, involved Slytherin House. All the Slytherins I trust are in the DA." Draco stood up and started pacing. "Father, you've no idea of the incredible force we're pulling together. Harry, who seems to have some instinctual genius when it comes to Defense, teaches these students. He's magnificent, and I'm not just saying that because I'm his mate. He dazzles the students and pours enthusiasm into them. He inspires them. All the students there could easily hold their own against you – or even Severus." Draco said. Lucius decided that he had to stop feeling surprised at his son's revelations. "We've come up with plans to defend Hogwarts. I'm not going to tell you what, because you're undecided on your allegiances, but let me tell you that they're brilliant."

"What you're saying, Draco, makes me marginally more comforted, but the Dark Lord's forces are enormous. There's no way that you're going to successfully overcome them with a force of a handful of students."

"Well, if you joined us, that's where you'd come in." Draco was almost on fire with his enthusiasm. "Denounce the Dark Lord, let Severus do the spying, and find that ritual to get rid of the Dark Mark. Then go to Madam Bones and get the Auror Force up to scratch. Merlin knows we've enough money in our vaults to do that. Harry could help – he's got the Potter Family Vault and –" suddenly Draco paused, looking guilty.

"And?" Lucius pressed, feeling like there was something momentous just lurking there, waiting for him to be told.

"I'm not going to tell you until you decide, Father." Draco answered. At that very moment, Lucius Malfoy saw his son and Heir, his pride and joy, become a man. If he were to die on that sofa, Lucius would know that the Malfoy Family was in good hands.

"What is in it for me, Draco?" he asked, standing up. "I'll be hunted by every Death Eater out there."

"Parkinson, Greengrass, Crabbe and Goyle are part of the DA." Draco answered. "The Death Eater forces are lacking support from my generation. And, Father, at the end of the day, the Dark Lord's going to die. At least on the Light Side everyone knows who'll take over."

Lucius looked long and hard at his son; he saw the hard line of his son's mouth, the determined set of his shoulders, and knew what he would then choose. Whether he live or die, he would do it knowing that he had stuck to his beliefs.

After all, was that not what this whole war was about?

* * *

_A/N:_ _Please give me any thoughts on this chapter!_


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N:__ Please give me any suggestions for how you'd think a Wizengamot session would be run! Help…_

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Twenty-One

Lord Voldemort was not a fool. He rather prided himself on being one of the cleverest wizards of the century, and thus despised it when things were hidden from him. He invariably worked it all out, after all. That was why, when Lucius Malfoy did not turn up to the next Death Eater meeting, Lord Voldemort decided that he either had to have an extremely good excuse or – no, Voldemort would not even _consider_ that one of his biggest supporters and fund-provider had left.

"Severus." Lord Voldemort whirled around in a flurry of robes that would have made Snape proud. Instead, the Potions Master swallowed heavily and pulled up every single Occlumency shield he knew. He was even less of a fool than the Dark Lord, but instead of refusing to think that the Malfoy Patriarch had turned his back on his master, Snape considered it a very real possibility, and cringed inwardly at the blow this would carry to the Dark Lord.

"My lord." Snape answered, bowing very low. He had been out of contact with his school friend, but after this meeting, Snape rather hoped that Lucius would open his bottle of Ogden's finest.

"Are you aware of the reason _why_ Lucius cannot attend the meeting today?" Lord Voldemort twirled his wand in his hand and Snape took a deep breath.

"No, my lord." Snape answered, and when he noticed Lord Voldemort's face darkening, he hurriedly continued, "I can find out for you, if you so wish, my lord."

"I do wish, Severus. Make that your highest priority and report back to me as soon as you have answers."

Snape bowed again before Disapparating.

* * *

"You better have a good reason for your absence, Lucius, or Merlin help you." Snape snarled, pushing his cloak onto the poor house-elf who had opened the door. His friend had been standing in the Entrance Hall of Malfoy Manor, wand in hand and looked rather alarmed at Snape's expression.

"I take it the Dark Lord did not appreciate my absence?" Lucius asked rhetorically. He turned to the house-elf and asked for some whiskey. Snape glared at Lucius a bit longer, and the Malfoy Patriarch relented and asked the house-elf to bring some of Ogden's finest.

"Not appreciate it?" Snape snorted and sat down heavily in a sofa in the Receiving Room. "Merlin, Lucius, what are you _playing at_?"

"I have changed allegiances." Lucius answered very calmly. A vase shattered on a table near Lucius and without a word except a raised eyebrow, Lucius fixed it with a wave of his wand.

"What the _hell_, Lucius?" Snape roared, standing up quickly. "You better have an awfully good reason, because the Dark Lord is not going to be happy."

"I am well aware of that, Severus." Snape subsided and sat down again. He noticed the fine tremors in his friend's hand when Lucius bent over the drinks tray that had appeared and picked up the decanter with Firewhiskey in it.

"You're scared." Snape said bluntly. Lucius looked up at him.

"I'm terrified." Lucius replied in an unusual show of frankness. "I don't know what game I'm playing here – Draco holds all the cards."

"Draco? What has my godson got to do with this?" Snape asked. It was true that he had kept his distance from Draco this year, wondering what side his godson would choose now that the war was public.

"He came into his inheritance, that's what. Cissa and I both expected his mate to be a Slytherin like Greengrass, but oh no, my son has to be the only Malfoy to have ever rocked the boat as violently as this."

"Greengrass?" Snape snorted again. "Lucius, I could have told you immediately who Draco would have bonded with, if you had ever brought up the subject with me. Your son has had an unhealthy obsession with Harry Potter ever since he started at Hogwarts. If you tell me that the Potter boy is not Draco's mate, then I will administer Veritaserum to make sure."

"I wish I'd consulted you earlier, then." Lucius took a deep drink of his Firewhiskey. Snape could see how utterly confused his friend was and felt some sympathy for him. At least Snape knew the layout of the game he was playing. "The bond has snapped into place uncommonly quickly. I visited Draco over the weekend, and I caught a flash of colour on his wrist when I was there. He and Potter were extraordinarily good at reading each other, as well. So when I returned to the Manor, I did my research and I found the Malfoy Family Tapestry yesterday. His and Potter's names are gold."

"A soul bond?" Snape went chalk white. Soul bonds were so rare that Snape could probably count on one hand how many there had been in the last century. "Merlin, Lucius."

"That was my reaction when I found out. I've spent the last two days researching how to get rid of cursed marks when one is a Veela and one's mate did not put it on you. I've found some dusty old tomes, but they're so archaic that I might have to refer to the Manor's Spirit. Oh Severus, it's all a mess and I've no idea what on Earth I'm doing."

Lucius was so rarely in such a state that Snape was at a complete loss. He'd come here expecting Lucius to be in a deep illness, and instead came face-to-face with a man who had made what was most likely such a life-changing decision that he didn't know what to do with himself. Lucius had always been in power and in control, but now that control was slipping away and all he had to rely on were two teenagers and an old man with a beard and a phoenix.

"You can count on my loyalty, if that alleviates any concerns you have. Anything the Dark Lord tells me or Dumbledore tells me I will relate back to you. It will be good to have you playing for my side, Lucius. It had been a long time since I could trust someone."

Lucius looked at Snape and raised an elegant eyebrow.

"I had my suspicions, Severus, but now I find myself in immense awe of your capabilities."

Snape raised a glass to his friend.

"I am nothing if not a Slytherin, and the only people a Slytherin trusts are those who have proved themselves time and time again." Snape looked over at Lucius over the rim of his glass. "You may not have been the most well-advised person, or the most selfless, by any stretch of the imagination, but you have been my friend and you have trusted me with your son, Lucius, and that goes miles to ensuring that I now try to keep you safe."

"I knew that I could trust you."

"Remember, Lucius, not to abuse this trust." Snape gave a smirk. "I am still a Slytherin, and despite my moment of Gryffindor sentimentality, I recognise an opportunity when I see one, and I know that I hold all the cards in _my _hands now."

"Not all, Severus. Draco still holds a good portion of them."

* * *

Draco's wand came down sharply and with a sudden hiss the parchment in front of him burst into flames. Harry jumped back as if scalded, and Hermione shot Draco a look of reproach.

"Bloody hell, what was that for?" Ron asked, looking from Draco to Harry.

"I'm trying to write a letter and it's not working." Draco hissed between his teeth. "Stupid – bloody – idiotic – "

Harry put a calming hand on Draco's arm and rubbed his thumb in circles. Draco let out his breath harshly and leant against Harry, who wrapped his arms around him and let his steady heartbeat calm his mate down.

"Draco's been trying to write to the more influential families from the Slytherins who have joined the DA, as Heir Malfoy, trying to persuade them to join the Light."

"That's risky business." Ron acknowledged, pulling up a chair at the rather official table that the Room had called up. As if called, Neville, Ginny and Luna, who had been practicing three-way duels, came up and sat down as well.

"No kidding, Weasley." Draco said, and a sharp poke from Harry brought his mate a reproachful look and a slightly apologetic one shot towards Ron, who gave a half-smile.

"It might be more help if I wrote them with you." Neville suggested, drinking some Butterbeer from the tray of biscuits and Butterbeer Dobby had brought along for them when they asked.

"Maybe." Draco said doubtfully. It would come off stronger if Draco wrote them without help, but it was so bloody difficult to phrase everything so that the Malfoy Family came off as the stronger, more powerful family. "There just _aren't_ enough powerful families in the DA. I mean, no offense, but the Weasleys are blood traitors and the Lovegoods considered slightly insane. Longbottom and Bones and two of the only worthwhile ones, but they have nothing _near_ the influence that the Dark Lord can amass with his families, even without the Malfoys there."

"What you're looking for is a Ministry upheaval, and that's not going to work." Ginny said. Though Draco had said 'no offense' the insult aimed at her family still rankled.

"Amelia Bones is awfully influential in the DMLE, and my Gran still has her wits about her. If we find out who's holding the proxy for the Potter Family, Harry can claim it, as he's the legal Head of the Black Family following his godfather's death – sorry Harry – and we can get a motion seconded for her to become Minister. We could garner enough for a no-confidence vote. The Wizengamot Law states that at least three Houses have to vote in a no-confidence for it to hold an emergency re-election for Minister. Stupid law, but some stupid person with a grudge against the Minister must have made it." Neville said, surprising everyone with his in-depth knowledge. He chuckled at the looks of astonishment. "Anyone would think that I don't know anything. My Gran _is_ an active Wizengamot member, you know?"

"That…that was _incredible_." Draco breathed out, and praise that high from Draco was so unusual that everyone turned their looks of astonishment onto him. "Longbottom, you're an absolute genius!"

"Thanks, I guess, but what do you mean?" Neville asked, bemused by the look of rapture on Draco's face.

"If I outline in my letters to, say, the Durocher, Greengrass, Zabini and Parkinson Families that we're proposing to overthrow a heavily Light Minister and install a more Grey Minister – the Bones Family may be affiliated with the Light, but that's too recent for them to be considered Light, they used to be more Dark – they'll jump on our wagon. Those who may have sympathies with the Dark Lord will see it as a political move calculated to please him and since none of them except Pansy's family is heavily affiliated with the Dark Lord, it could be enough to sway them. Longbottom, you're writing these letters with me _immediately_. Harry, I want you to send a message to Dumbledore saying that you need to see him urgently. I may not like him, but he's not only the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot but also the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and having him on our side is essential. Well?" he asked when everyone stared at him. "What are you waiting for?"

Harry raced from the room, Hermione pulled out a heavy book on Wizengamot Law, Neville rushed to get ink and Draco sat down in front of parchment, leaving Ron, Ginny and Luna staring at the vacated seats.

"I feel like something big happened, but it was a bit too quick for me to notice. Please tell me I'm not the only one?" Ginny asked in a small voice. Ron sighed in relief.

"It all sounded like gibberish to me."

Luna smiled mystically.

"The Nargles have left." She pronounced, before gliding off, leaving Ron and Ginny even more discombobulated than before.

* * *

_A/N:__ Thoughts? Is it moving quickly enough? Too quickly? Not quickly enough? I hope you liked it!_


	22. Chapter 22

_A/N:__ Canon is now a long-lost dream. Celebrate the longest chapter to date!_

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Twenty-Two

Harry pulled anxiously at his robes, provoking the ire of his boyfriend, who tutted and slapped Harry's hand away from his robes. Harry sighed but desisted, instead looking up at the massive doors that loomed above him. He swallowed.

"Harry," Draco put his arm around his boyfriend's shoulders and squeezed. "Harry, you'll be fine. The Wizengamot won't know what hit them."

Harry, too scared to speak, nodded jerkily. He had accepted the mantle of Lord Black and Lord Potter from Gringotts with Dumbledore's permission, and Draco and Neville had worked tirelessly to bring over the Durocher Family, the Parkinson Family, the Zabini Family and the Greengrass Family to their point of view. Amelia Bones had been warned by her niece that she would be nominated after the no-confidence vote, and Augusta Longbottom had been approached with a request to second Harry's motion to nominate Amelia. Harry had been warmed by the fierce protectiveness Neville's grandmother had for her grandson, and her surprised pride at their plans. Her full support lay behind them. And then there was the surprise that Neville and Draco had cooked up between them that no-one was aware of, apart from Harry, Neville, Draco, Hermione and Ron.

"The Wizengamot would like to welcome Harry James Potter, Lord Potter and Lord Black, to the chamber!" Harry heard the steward on the other side of the doors say in an echoing voice, and before Draco could murmur any more reassurance, the doors were thrown open and everyone in the chamber was craning their heads to get a look at him. Harry took a deep breath and stalked into the chamber with his head held high.

The Wizengamot Chamber was no less austere than the first time he had visited it just before his fifth year. He could see the Noble Families in their boxes, the crest of each Family emblazoned on the small writing desk in front of each seat. Across from the Noble Families were the Order of Merlin winners and the Heads of Department, each of who had a vote in the Wizengamot. The Noble Families outnumbered and outranked the Order of Merlin winners and the Heads of Department, simply because of tradition and because each Ancient and Noble Family held at least two votes.

Rising majestically behind the Chief Warlock's Chair was the Chair of Hufflepuff, the Chair of Ravenclaw, the Chair of Slytherin and the Chair of Gryffindor. Further behind them were the chairs belonging to the House of Merlin and the House of Le Fay.

Harry stopped in front of the Chief Warlock's Chair, where Albus Dumbledore stood in his bright, garish robes, a smile on his face. Slightly to the left of him was the clerk, a clever, reliable old man who everyone called Gillings. There was a small, lower platform to the right of the Chief Warlock's Chair where the Minister and the Head of the DMLE sat. The Minister, Cornelius Fudge, looked shell-shocked, and beside him, the Head of the DMLE, Amelia Bones, had raised her eyebrow in surprise. Otherwise, there was not a flicker of emotion on her face.

"Chief Warlock." Harry intoned, bowing solemnly. He glanced around the Wizengamot before turning his gaze towards Dumbledore once more. They had expanded the original plan to depose Fudge after Neville had paid a visit to the Longbottom Vaults over the weekend and discovered an old sheet of parchment which had changed their plans. Harry had not been aware that the plans had changed until his etiquette lesson from Draco a week before he was supposed to face the Wizengamot - and then the planned surprise had knocked him off his feet, wondering how he would be able to pull it off.

* * *

_A week earlier_

"The Chief Warlock is called a Warlock for a reason." Draco said, waving his wand around, prompting a shower of green sparks to escape. Sitting next to Harry, Neville smirked. Hermione was writing down notes on a piece of paper, her eyes fixed on the large blackboard that the Room had erected in the DA's classroom. On it was a detailed diagram of the Wizengamot, and the names of all the Noble Houses and their Lords were written next to their seats. Draco and Neville had just spent the better half of two hours getting Harry up to steam with everything they had been forced to learn by their families.

"Why?" Hermione asked, intrigued. "I always wondered why he was a Warlock, not a Wizard."

Despite his reluctance to learn about the Wizengamot and partake in Wizarding politics, Harry was also interested in his mate's answer. He shot a pulse of confusion and interest towards Draco, who smiled smugly at Harry in response.

"When the Wizengamot was first founded, there were only ten Houses. The House of Peverell, the father house of the House of Potter, the Houses of the Founders, the House of Black, the House of Dumbledore, which then went downhill from there, the House of Longbottom, a daughter house of the House of Hufflepuff, the House of Merlin and the House of Le Fay." Draco said, waving his wand. The blackboard turned itself around and wrote down the ten names. "This meant –"

"Why don't the original lines remain?" Hermione asked, interrupting Draco in her eagerness. "I mean, Peverell turned into Potter, and I'm not sure what happened to the rest, but all that remained seemed to be Black, Longbottom and Dumbledore."

"The Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin lines all split or died out. Ravenclaw completely died out with her daughter, Helena Ravenclaw. Godric Gryffindor's line followed the Peverell line, and Hufflepuff married her only child, her daughter, into the House of Longbottom. Slytherin's line turned into the Gaunt line." Neville answered. "No one really knows what happened to the House of Merlin and the House of Le Fay. Current thinking is that when they died they donated the gifts of their House to the entire world, which is why we have Muggleborns. Some people think they're still alive and their Heirs are just dormant. No one really knows what happened to them. They were the two most powerful Houses of the original alliance." Hermione pulled out a spare piece of parchment and wrote all that down neatly. When she was done, she turned back to Draco, who was watching her impatiently.

"Sorry," she murmured sheepishly.

"It's no problem, I'm just ensuring that Harry doesn't look like a complete fool." Draco answered sarcastically. Harry looked at him in mild rebuke, and Draco sighed. "You're about to ally yourself to the House of Malfoy, Harry, I'm a bit anxious you don't embarrass yourself."

"Please continue." Neville said steadily, diffusing the tension in the room.

"Because there were only ten houses, there was a vast pool of ancient magic at their disposal. This pool of magic was only accessible to these ten houses. The ten houses were granted the status of 'Warlock Houses' due to the ancient magic that infused itself into their bloodlines. Warlocks are witches or wizards who can manipulate raw, ancient magic. Hogwarts is sentient because it is built with ancient magic. The reason you and Neville can interact with her is because the Founders infused their very Family Magic into the stones so that she would help those who inhabited her."

Hermione now had a rather large pile of parchment stacked beside her. Harry was rather daunted by it.

"This ancient magic is present in the seat of the Chief Warlock. Originally, the Chief Warlock was also the Minister, who didn't have access to this ancient magic, and thus by assuming the position of Chief Warlock could use the ancient magic that the Chief Warlock was gifted with. Now, the Wizengamot is so large and filled with so many Houses that they elect the Chief Warlock. The Minister has so much power at his disposable that he is forbidden from becoming Chief Warlock but can stand in place of the Chief Warlock if needed."

"Is that why Professor Dumbledore is seen as so powerful? Because his line not only has access to the ancient magic because it's one of the original Houses, but also because he's got more access to the magic because he's Chief Warlock." Hermione asked. Draco looked impressed.

"Yes." He then sighed. "Even if you don't like Dumbledore, you've got to stay on his good side, because he could make life very hard for you. This is why, Harry, when you're at the Wizengamot, and you've just been announced, you are going to invoke the old alliance of the Ten Houses."

"What?" Harry shouted, jumping from the seat he was on. "All that's left is Longbottom, Dumbledore, Black, Potter and –" he paused. "Merlin, Gaunt!"

"That could be taken two ways, Harry." Draco drawled. Harry shot him a look and Draco subsided. "The House of Gaunt is obsolete. No House from the original ten will permit the Darkest Arts to be used. Darkest Arts are different to Dark Arts. Darkest Arts are things like necromancy, or splitting souls." Draco looked at Harry significantly, both of them remembering the spirit of Malfoy Manor. "If you look at where the House of Gaunt's seat is supposed to be, it will have gone black, meaning that it can no longer be used."

Reassured, Harry sat back down.

"What happens if he invokes the alliance?" Hermione asked, her quill hovering over her parchment.

"The dormant pool of ancient magic will reopen." Neville answered, his eyes fixed onto Draco. "Malfoy's right. It's the best thing to do. Because Slytherin's line has died with Gaunt, and Ravenclaw's with her daughter, the magic will know this and will still be available to you."

"What about Merlin and Le Fay?" Harry asked. "What will happen to those lines?"

Neville sighed.

"When Malfoy and I were discussing how to improve on the plan to nominate Amelia Bones as Minister, we found out about the alliance. It was originally seen as myth, but then when I visited the Longbottom Vaults, I found the old Family alliance records, which named the ten houses in the alliance. Of course, the alliance papers were declared null and void because Slytherin and Gryffindor broke their alliance vows, thereby destroying the entire alliance. But no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find anything to do with the Le Fay or the Merlin lines. You will have to invoke the alliance and see what happens."

"If we're thinking optimistically," Harry started, not liking the fact that he was leaving something as big as ancient magic seemed to be to chance, "Then through the Potter lines, we'll have Gryffindor and Peverell, then through Black we'll have Black, through Longbottom we'll have Hufflepuff and Longbottom, Dumbledore will be Dumbledore with the Chief Warlock magic, and Slytherin through Gaunt is dead and Ravenclaw is dead. Optimistically, Merlin and Le Fay will either respond with the magic and then the alliance will be invoked. What happens then?"

"This will produce a massive show of power, which will call out all the existing Family Magic belonging to those of the old alliance, and then you'll go up to the Black and Potter seats and the Wizengamot will be silenced, Dumbledore will be twinkling happily away, and then in the next order of business you can have a no-confidence vote. The public who went to see the Wizengamot session that day will be overwhelmed and the press who thought they could be bothered to attend the session will be having kittens so much will be happening." Draco listed off, waving his wand with each thing. The blackboard filled up. "Any questions?"

Hermione's hand shot up.

* * *

All the strategies that Neville and Draco had put together, added to by Hermione, and then Ron, swirled in his mind as he looked up at Dumbledore. The old professor seemed to sense what was going on in Harry's mind and gave a very subtle nod.

"You are welcome into the Chamber, Lord Potter, Lord Black." He answered. Harry then took a deep breath, remembering the words and the actions that Draco had drummed into him ceaselessly for an entire week.

"I, Lord Potter and Lord Black, call forth my Family Magic!" Harry's hand rose and clapped together in a shower of sparks. From the ground rose two shadowy figures, one of Ignotus Peverell, and another of Phineas Nigellus Black, the ancestors of the lines Harry was Head of. There were gasps from the public galleries, and many of those in the Wizengamot leant forward, intrigued by what Harry Potter was doing.

"What is your will, Head of House Black?" Phineas Nigellus intoned, his face twisted into a semblance of respect for the half-blood Head of House Black.

"What is your will, Head of House Potter, descendant of House Peverell?" Ignotus asked more politely, his eyes shining as another person continued his line.

"With the following words, I will invoke the alliance that cemented the Wizengamot as the ruling body of the Wizarding World. Does this meet your approval?" Harry asked, unaware that his eyes were fairly glowing with the power that he was calling forth. His robes swirled around him as his magic poured away from him towards the Family Magicks.

"It does." They both answered simultaneously, then as one they turned to face Dumbledore, who was the only one in the Wizengamot who did not look astonished. Instead, he stood tall, knowing that his Family Magic would be called forth soon, House Dumbledore being one of the original ten houses.

"I call upon the House of Peverell to honour its vows. Does this House honour them?" Harry asked, his voice echoing throughout the silent chamber. Ignotus turned around to face Harry.

"The House of Peverell once more honours its vows." He replied, bowing deeply. A bolt of silver magic shot up and hovered in a ball above Harry.

"I call upon the House of Black to honour its vows. Does this House honour them?" Harry asked again, looking at Phineas Nigellus. The man looked shocked, but also a little pleased.

"The House of Black once more honours its vows." Phineas Nigellus bowed, and when he straightened, a bolt of black magic joined the silver magic in the air, the strands of the magicks intertwining with each other.

Harry took a deep breath.

"I call upon the House of Gryffindor to honour its vows. Does this House honour them?" There were gasps in the Chamber as everyone looked around to see if Godric Gryffindor would appear. Indeed, in a rush of red magic, Godric Gryffindor materialised next to Phineas Nigellus.

"The House of Gryffindor once more honours its vows." Godric Gryffindor called out, his rather bear-like figure hosting a booming voice that made people shiver as it rushed over them. His red magic joined the black and silver magic above Harry.

"I call upon the House of Longbottom to honour its vows. Does this House honour them?" Harry's eyes met Augusta Longbottom's, and she gave a terse nod. The figure of a tall, long-limbed man appeared beside Ignotus'.

"The House of Longbottom once more honours its vows." The man replied, his voice warm and rich. His gold magic rose to join the others in the air.

Harry shook his head as if to clear it of water. The weight of the magicks above him pressed down on him.

"I call upon the House of Hufflepuff to honour its vows. Does this House honour them?" Harry asked. The plump, motherly figure of Helga Hufflepuff appeared beside Godric Gryffindor, and she gave a wide smile to Harry.

"The House of Hufflepuff once more honours its vows." She answered, snapping her fingers and sending some yellow magic up to the others. She took Godric's offered arm and leant on it heavily.

"I call upon the House of Dumbledore to honour its vows. Does this House honour them?" Harry stared at Dumbledore, who looked back at him, the twinkle gone from his eyes. There was a sudden silence when no Family Magic materialised, and everyone watched the battle going on silently between the Chief Warlock and Harry Potter. Harry felt some sweat bead on his forehead. He was getting tired of holding all the magic. He frowned at Dumbledore, who bowed his head and seemed to fold into the Chief Warlock's chair.

A very old, bent man appeared beside the Longbottom Magic. He raised an eyebrow at Dumbledore, and turned to look at Harry. His glance assessed the young Head of House, then glanced at Phineas Nigellus and Ignotus, both of whom nodded. Seemingly satisfied with the silent conversation, the Dumbledore Magic lifted his cane.

"The House of Dumbledore once more honours its vows." The man said in a raspy voice, and a thread of purple magic inserted itself into the madly whirling ball of magic.

Harry looked at the six people gathered around him. Now he needed to call upon the unknown magic. Draco and Neville had warned him what would happen once he called forth Slytherin and Ravenclaw, and then had expressed fervent hopes that the same would happen upon calling forth Merlin and Le Fay.

"I call upon the House of Ravenclaw to honour its vows. Does this House honour them?" Harry's eyes darted around nervously, waiting for a reaction. Suddenly, from the Ravenclaw Chair Rowena Ravenclaw appeared. She seemed to be struggling furiously with something, and when she materialised beside Helga, she seemed older, weaker than her years. Something like regret danced in her eyes, and Helga murmured something soothing that Rowena ignored.

"The House of Ravenclaw has died out." Rowena bowed her head in shame. "I offer up the ancient magic my House was gifted with at the founding of the Wizengamot. Accept this as recompense for my House being unable to uphold its vows."

A ball of blue magic hovered uncertainly in front of Rowena.

"I accept the compensation that the House of Ravenclaw offers. May your House forever rest in peace in the memories of the Wizarding World." Harry offered her a vow, and Rowena smiled sadly as she faded away, leaving behind the blue magic, which joined the others in the air.

"I call upon the House of Slytherin to honour its vows. Does this House honour them?"

Salazar Slytherin materialised almost effortlessly beside the empty space where Rowena should have remained. He seemed haughty, unapproachable. His eyes looked deep into Harry and found him lacking.

"The House of Slytherin has betrayed its vows, both to Gryffindor and to itself." Salazar looked at Godric, and something passed between them. "The House of Slytherin broke the original alliance, and if it had been called forth earlier would have broken it again for treading in the Darkest Arts." Salazar lowered himself to the ground and knelt, leaning on his cane. He bowed his silver head, ignoring the horrified gasps that seemed never to stop. "As retribution for the sins of the House of Slytherin, I offer up all the ancient magic my line has ever collected. Accept it so that the House may finally rest in peace."

Harry swallowed; the sight of the powerful man, even though he was made of the magic left over in the Slytherin line, kneeling on the floor, so vulnerable, sobered him. He waved his hand.

"I accept this compensation that the House of Slytherin offers. You are free from all your mistakes; your magic is accepted to renew the vows your line was unable to uphold." Harry watched as the man faded away, still kneeling, and his green magic joined the rather large ball in the air.

Now this was the moment. Draco and Neville had asked him to call forth the Le Fay magic first, as Morgana Le Fay was a woman, not a man, and they thought that she was more likely to have let her line die out. Her descendant that had sworn the original vows had also been a woman, chosen by Morgana when Morgana left the land of the living. No one knew if that woman had chosen another, and it would be the spirit of Morgana, as the founder of House Le Fay, who would appear in front of Harry.

"I call upon the House of Le Fay to honour her vows. Does this House honour them?" As the oldest magical line in Britain, House Le Fay was permitted to have a gender assigned to it. This meant that the Heir to House Le Fay would always be a woman.

The sound of rushing wind filled the chamber, and everyone's robes started swirling around them. Tendrils of grey magic seeped from the Wizengamot Chamber itself, and the chairs rattled ominously. From the empty space beside where Salazar Slytherin should have stood, Morgana Le Fay appeared.

"You have called forth old and ancient magic to honour vows made a long time ago, young man." Morgana Le Fay stepped out of her designated space towards Harry. "You have taken a great risk."

Harry strained, trying to hold up the magic that House Le Fay was pouring forth.

"I also call upon the House of Merlin to honour his vows. Does this House honour them?" Harry choked out, sweat pouring down his face. The same grey magic that had announced Morgana formed the figure of Merlin himself, the man of almost godlike status in the Wizarding World. A rumble of something that sounded like thunder filled the Chamber. Merlin stepped forwards and Harry fell to the floor, breathing heavily. He rose to kneel before the two most powerful people the Wizarding World had ever known.

"You are risking your life in this endeavour." Merlin announced, his voice making the magic swirl ever faster around the room. "I was still alive when the vows were made, unlike Morgana, who had left to the Ancient Lands, never to walk the land of the living again. Why should _you_ be the one to renew them?"

Harry's breath left him and he scrambled to assemble his thoughts. Why was the Magic testing him?

"Because the Wizarding World is in need of it, Lord Merlin." Harry ground out, almost unable to speak with the weight of the magic on him. Merlin extended his hand, and a ghostly strand of grey magic appeared, and stopped before Harry, becoming a small orb similar to the ones in Trelawney's classroom.

Scenes of death, destruction and pain greeted him when he glanced up. He saw Salazar duelling Godric with startling intensity, spells cracking the ground underneath them. He saw the ten houses standing up and yelling at each other in the Wizengamot Chamber, magic flying across it.

"This is a dangerous alliance." Morgana said, gliding forward. "Are you strong enough to uphold it, you who have invoked it once more?"

Harry bowed his head, unable to watch the orb.

"Test me, then, and find out for yourselves."

Merlin and Morgana exchanged a glance, before turning to the other figures in the circle. Merlin lifted his staff to the ceiling.

"I call upon the magic of House Peverell, House Black, House Gryffindor, House Longbottom, House Hufflepuff, House Dumbledore and the magicks of House Ravenclaw and House Slytherin to judge this said Harry Potter and find him either worthy or unworthy!"

"And what shall be the price?" All the Houses answered as one. Harry started going a deathly grey.

"If he is found unworthy, then he shall face the loss of his life. If he is found worthy, then the vows will be upheld by all Houses present, and he shall be able to call forth the power from the alliance once more."

Harry felt Draco's presence in the back of his mind make itself known quite violently, screeching at him to step away, to run away, to _leave_, that his life wasn't worth the alliance. Harry ignored his mate and pulled himself to his feet.

"Do what you must. I will face your tests and you may judge me as you see me now."

Something like approval flitted across Merlin's face before the ball of magic above Harry dropped and Harry saw nothing more.

* * *

_A/N:__ That took a sudden, drastic turn. I honestly have no idea where that came from. Please do tell me what you think._


	23. Chapter 23

_A/N:__ This chapter has been edited since its first posting._

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me. _

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Twenty-Three

Draco let out a furious shriek as his mate's presence in his mind disappeared, and he launched himself down from the Wizengamot seats towards his mate. Aurors rushed from the doors of the Wizengamot, shooting spells at him, but Draco's wings burst out and he slowed his unerring dive so that he hovered in the air, his wings spread out behind him and his magic forming an impenetrable shield around him. The spells ricocheted off the shield and back towards the Aurors, who ducked behind every available cover. Draco tossed his head in contempt and raced to his mate. A thick magical shield around the circle of Family Magicks stopped him and he snarled, sparks shooting from his hand.

"Veela!" Helga Hufflepuff breathed, turning back to Merlin, whose eyes were now fixed on Draco, instead of the writhing form that was Harry on the floor.

"I did not feel a bond," Merlin said steadily, raising an eyebrow in Draco's direction. Draco growled and beat his wings angrily. He could not feel his mate. Draco hissed and sparks shot forward from his hands to the shield surrounding the Family Magicks.

Ignotus looked anxiously at Merlin and Le Fay.

"They have not consummated it yet, House Merlin. I beg you let the Veela in, or we may just lose the boy."

"That is the _point_ of challenging him, House Peverell," Merlin snarled.

"There will be no point in challenging the boy if he dies because we've broken a fledgling bond. We have to test him _properly_." Phineas Nigellus Black looked immensely bored and didn't even flinch when Merlin turned his gaze towards him.

"Very well." Merlin flicked his hand and Draco immediately threw himself towards his mate's prone form.

He wrapped his wings tightly around Harry and made soft, crooning noises in the back of his throat. He was too far gone for any coherent speech, and his only priority at this point in time was his mate. Unconsciously, he threw up a Privacy Charm, which included the Family Magicks, as they were all tied to Harry's life force. Draco nuzzled Harry's hair and slowly, his mate's writhing ceased and he lay trembling in Draco's arms, still unconscious. Draco lifted a terrible gaze onto the Family Magicks, who all involuntarily took a step back, even though Draco was unable to hurt them.

The message was clear: if Harry died, Draco would do his level best to destroy every family responsible.

* * *

Harry was in pain. He had never felt so much pain in his life, not even at Voldemort's resurrection. There was a pestilential darkness surrounding him and murky tendrils of grey fog were swirling around his body. Harry groaned when another violent tremor wracked him and he coughed up some blood.

Suddenly, he felt the pain recede a bit, and he was able to sit up. Small shivers ran through his body occasionally, but Harry was now strong enough to stand up, step forward and look around him.

As far as he could tell, he was alone. The Family Magicks had all disappeared and Harry was no longer dressed in his dress robes, but dark black robes with white trimmings that almost made him blend in with the darkness around him. Harry caught sight of a door in front of him and he hesitated before walking towards it. His wand had vanished, which made him rather reluctant to go anywhere alone. However, he was not a Gryffindor for nothing, and he put his hand on the door handle and twisted it.

The door creaked open ominously and the fog around Harry's feet swirled into the dark room. Nervously, Harry stepped into the room and the door slammed shut behind him. The sound of the slamming door echoed around the room, and Harry shuffled towards the where he thought the wall was. His hands groped the empty darkness until they hit something solid. Harry grasped whatever it was and clung to it for dear life, blind even with his glasses on.

Almost as soon as Harry felt safer, a powerful white light filled the room and collected itself until it formed the figure of a stunning young woman. She shone with ethereal light and the murky fog vanished in her presence. Harry's eyes roved around the room, which he soon realised was a magnificent cathedral-like structure, and he was holding onto what seemed to be an ornately carved square pillar. Hurriedly, he let go of it and faced the woman, who was watching him expectantly.

"Harry James Potter," the woman breathed, and the white light around her pulsed in time with her words. Harry fell to the ground as if in a dream. "Do you know who I am?"

The answer came to Harry effortlessly.

"Lady Magic."

The woman glided forwards, her feet never touching the ground. Everything she passed seemed to glow with renewed strength and vigour.

"You are correct." She started circling Harry until tendrils of white magic wreathed around him. "You are an intriguing boy. You amuse me, did you know that?"

"No, my lady." Harry kept his head bowed, and pushed any resentment away from his mind. Impure thoughts had no place in Lady Magic's presence.

"Your life so filled with hardships and pain – such _human_ pain." She chuckled, and ran a finger along Harry's cheek, which tingled in response. "But yet your fate is somehow intertwined with the deepest evil that I have seen in a long time."

"Lord Voldemort, my lady."

"The _self-styled_ Lord Voldemort. I bestow titles upon people. No title may be given without my express consent, child." She knelt down in front of him, and Harry was almost overwhelmed by her power. It electrified the air around them and made everything seem purer. "You were chosen by a Prophecy and chosen by a Veela." She pulled an invisible thread in the air and a beautiful silver and gold thread suddenly appeared. "This is you and your Veela. Such a powerful bond in such a short time."

"My lady?" Harry asked, confused, but mesmerised by the physical manifestation of their bond, which sent out pulses of magic now and then.

"A gold and silver bond, child." Lady Magic tugged the bond gently. "Only those truly devoted to each other will produce a silver and gold bond. The line between love and hate is indeed quite thin, as you have proved. And now, despite this gift that I have given you, you have invoked an alliance as old as time."

She drew herself up to her full height, dropping the bond. A chill ran through Harry, bringing goosebumps to his skin. White magic gathered around her and flew towards Harry, lifting him up into the air and holding him captive in the air.

"You dared to invoke the alliance!" she thundered, and Harry grimaced as a strong tremor ran through him, as if his very core was reacting to her displeasure. Yet he stood up to the pain and looked her in the eye.

"It is the only way to stop the _self-styled_ Lord Voldemort," he ground out, pushing against the pain and throwing her own words back at her.

"Are you willing to pay the price for invoking the alliance?" she asked, appearing to ignore his words. However, Harry could feel the magic around him subside, and the pain left him.

"I was not aware that there was a price, my lady," Harry answered.

"There is a price to anything as strong as the alliance you invoked, child. Will you hear it?" she asked.

Harry nodded jerkily, and she released him. He tumbled to the floor, the black robes pooling around him.

"As penalty for invoking the alliance, you will be required to wear black, with white and silver trimmings, for the rest of your life. You will bear my mark and you will serve only me. You will be forced to become a spell weaver. You will be forbidden from participating in the Wizengamot. You must instead let your mate do that for you. Though the alliance will bring tremendous power, influence and wealth, you will be bound by stringent laws that will restrict your living greatly."

Harry could feel the weight of her orders bear down on him, but he bore it bravely.

"How will I find out how I am restricted, my lady?" He sensed approval come off her, and the weight fell off his shoulders slightly.

"You will be provided with a charter by House Merlin, my representative in the Family Magicks you summoned."

Harry then paused for a moment.

"Why will I have to wear black, with white or silver, my lady?" he asked, knowing that he was risking her ire once more.

"My colour is white - or silver - as you can see." She looked piercingly at him. "You will be, for lack of better words, my servant on the mortal realm. You have dared to invoke a powerful magical alliance, one that was disbanded for a reason, I must add," Harry felt the pressure of the magic around him rise again, "And as penalty, you will have to represent me. I am the _only_ magical being permitted to wear white. Do you know why that is, child?"

"Purity. Innocence," Harry answered, stumbling over his words. She nodded, and the force of her power ebbed again.

"You are correct. I am the purest thing there is in this universe. At its heart, Magic is a beautiful, wondrous thing I have gifted to a select few. But since you have decided to bear the weight of magic that the alliance has gifted you, then you will now be mine. As such, you will have to wear the colour that is the antithesis to my purity, but the white and silver linings, or however you choose to put these colours on your robes, will demonstrate that you answer only to me, as my servant. I am your lady, and I am the only one who has the right to control you. This is the challenge you will face for the rest of your life, child. Are you certain that you can do that?"

Harry thought very carefully before answering. He remembered the freedom he had always wished for as a child. He remembered his disgust at the servitude the Death Eaters were forced into. But then he remembered the hopes and dreams that were hingeing on him getting this alliance. He remembered that for better or for worse, Lady Magic had gifted him with a bondmate who would always be there for him. In return for this, he had invoked a powerful spell, and he knew that he had to pay the penalty for his actions. He trusted Draco to control the Potter and Black seats. He trusted that Lady Magic, having given him the gift of his bond, would be a generous person to serve. Someone who had the power to create a bond of such deep-seated love could have nothing but care and concern for her chosen people, Harry truly believed. So it was with this belief that Harry gave a strong nod. For the first time since he had seen her, she smiled a beauteous smile and Harry felt the pressure from her power leave him completely.

"My lady, will I be able to complete the task for which I summoned the alliance before the laws concerning me are invoked?" Harry asked, looking at her desperately as the sudden thought hit him. Lady Magic paused briefly and darkness enveloped the room for a moment, before the white magic filled it again. She was standing in front of him, a sword in her hand.

"I will grant you this one boon, child of mine." She placed the sword on one shoulder, then on the other. Harry felt the magic from the sword run down his back, and a shape form from his right shoulder all the way down his back.

"Thank you, my lady."

"Serve me well, and you will never regret calling the alliance." She looked at him seriously, and Harry felt the weight of her expectations again, before the pressure relieved itself somewhat. "But beware the power of temptation, for it is a dangerous enemy."

With the imprint of her power in his eyes, Harry fell back into darkness.

* * *

_A/N:__ Thank you to those readers out there who are still reading. All the favourites and follows and reviews mean a lot to me. _


	24. Chapter 24

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Twenty-Four

Harry's eyes shot open suddenly, startling Draco, whose wings shielded his mate from the view of the Wizengamot. Draco gently rubbed his hands up and down Harry's arms until his mate's breathing slowed from quick, panicked breaths to long, measured ones. His Veela withdrew somewhat from his mind and Draco was able to speak.

"Harry?" his voice sounded raspy, and he coughed. "Harry, are you alright?"

Harry groaned wearily and sat up as much as he could while covered by Draco's wings. It was then Draco noticed that Harry was dressed in soft silk black robes with a silver lining to the neckline, to the sleeves and to the bottom of the robes. Peeking out from underneath Harry's robes, on Harry's back near his shoulders, was an elaborate silver and white design tattooed onto his skin. Draco snarled.

"What is it, Draco?" Harry asked. His voice sounded weary, like he was carrying a weight on himself that he knew would change everything.

"You are marked. Again."

Harry sighed and twisted around, still in the darkness of the wings.

"I saw Lady Magic, Draco," Harry cupped Draco's face. "And Lady Magic now commands me. As a result, she must have marked me as hers. It's not that bad, I promise you." Harry kissed Draco's lips lightly, which did not do much to sooth the raging worry that had surfaced at Harry's words. "All will come to light soon, and I must face the Wizengamot again."

"I don't want you to," Draco said petulantly, and Harry chuckled, sounding a bit more upbeat.

_Draco, I need to. You can hover protectively at my shoulder, like the proper Veela mate that you are. Everything is about to change, and I need you to be strong, Draco. Please,_ Harry whispered into Draco's mind. The Veela could feel the nervousness in Harry and he nuzzled his mate's neck briefly, placing a butterfly-light kiss on the juncture between Harry's neck and his shoulder. Then, with great reluctance, Draco spread his wings wide open to gasps from the Wizengamot. Harry cancelled the Privacy Charm around him, Draco and the Family Magicks and spread his arms wide.

"I have returned and thus I do invoke the ancient alliance!" Harry's hands twisted in the air and a long wooden staff appeared in his hand. He brought it down to the ground with a loud bang, causing a ripple of magic to rush through the Wizengamot stands. Harry then turned to face Professor Dumbledore, who was staring at him in shock.

"I assume that you recognise what I am wearing?" Harry asked, tilting his head. He felt Draco's strength behind him and fed off his mate's solidarity.

"Yes, servant of Magic," Professor Dumbledore breathed, speaking Harry's true title out to the Wizengamot. Some of the Heads of the old families gasped, and many in the public galleries turned to their neighbours with questions on their lips.

Harry turned to Merlin, who stepped away from the circle of Family Magicks, a scroll in his hand.

"Harry James Potter has passed the tests set by Lady Magic and as penalty for invoking the ancient rite, is now under the power and authority of Lady Magic. Said Harry James Potter will answer to no one other than Lady Magic. Such power is to be used lightly, and as such there are many restrictions governing him." Merlin paused and stared at Harry for a long moment. There was complete silence in the Wizengamot stands. "Said Harry James Potter is forbidden from wearing anything other than black, with trimmings of silver or white. This is to signify his status as the direct, but less pure, representative of Lady Magic's will among mortals. He must become a spell weaver, as the magic at his command is vast, and as such will be required to learn Runes and Arithmancy before leaving his education. He must never enter into politics, as the influence he wields is too dangerous. Lady Magic has granted him the one boon of finishing what he started in here before abstaining from all politics forthwith." House Merlin then paused, and the silence in the Wizengamot was almost stifling. "He must never express any opinion when talked to by the press, and neither must he publish any articles expressing his opinion, as his opinion will reflect what Lady Magic has decreed. He must forevermore remember that he is directly answerable to Lady Magic and any aspect of his behaviour that does not fit in with her expectations will be punishable."

_That means etiquette lessons as well, Harry,_ Draco's voice said into his mind, sounding a bit stunned. Harry sent some soothing feelings towards his mate, knowing that he had to be strong for Draco, whose feelings were currently all over the place.

"Does he have a choice?" yelled a voice from the public galleries. House Merlin looked up briefly and sneered.

"Not unless he wishes to die," he answered, before rolling up the scroll and dropping it to the ground in front of Harry. He then bowed.

"All of the Houses from the first alliance will once more honour their vows," House Merlin declared, and with that, all the Family Magicks disappeared with a bang, dissolving into the Wizengamot. Harry stood there, alone in the middle of the Wizengamot Chamber, with only Draco behind him. No one spoke for a long time, letting the magnitude of what had just happened sink in. Then Harry stepped forward, and felt every eye in the Wizengamot follow him.

"I will temporarily resume my office of Lord Black and Lord Potter, before I will hand it over to Heir Malfoy, as per my orders from Lady Magic command," Harry announced, and he bowed deeply to Professor Dumbledore before turning around to the stairs leading up the Potter and Black seats. He could hear the murmuring in the Wizengamot at the announcement that all the power associated with the Potter and Black seats would go to Draco Malfoy, the Heir of the feared Malfoy Family. It practically announced to the world without actually saying it that they were in a relationship and would be bonded. Draco, with a flutter of wings, flew up to follow Harry.

Looking shaken, Cornelius Fudge stood up from his seat and pointed a twitching hand at Draco.

"Such an abomination cannot be allowed in the Wizengamot Chamber!" he cried out, only for Harry to pin him with a freezing glare.

"Are we talking about _you_, Minister?" Harry snarled, grabbing hold of the desk in front of the Potter seat. "I will declare a no-confidence vote in the ability of the current Minister, who has shown no clear attempt to destroy Lord Voldemort! Has he increased the capacity of the Auror Department? No! Has he, other than creating more wards around the Ministry, tried to find the base of operation for the Death Eaters? No! What is he doing? He is instead criticising the son of one of the very people in this Chamber who can pull him down from power!" Harry's eyes swept around the Wizengamot. "Who will second my vote?"

"Seconded," Lucius Malfoy, to the surprise of everyone in the Chamber. Augusta Longbottom, who had been preparing herself to stand up, sat back down again with a raised eyebrow. "I will nominate Amelia Bones as Minister. Who seconds my nomination?"

"Seconded!" Madam Longbottom, not to be outdone, rose from her seat. Draco's emotions were so many and so overwhelming that he had to sit down. Agreement between the Longbottom and the Malfoy Families was unprecedented, and from the looks of the people around him, Draco could see that many were also astonished.

Amelia Bones stood up gracefully; a contrast with the bumbling Fudge, whose face had gone bright red and whose hands were shaking violently.

"I will accept this nomination."

Professor Dumbledore stood up, his eyes twinkling furiously with joy. He always loved a rather busy session.

"Shall we put this motion to a majority vote?" he asked rhetorically, as there was no way he could have done anything else. Professor Dumbledore waved his wand, and a large tally board appeared in front of him. "Please say 'aye' or 'nay' when you raise your wand. Your wand must shoot green sparks for 'aye' and red for 'nay'. You must vote for this motion, as the fate of the Wizarding World is at stake here."

There was a rumble of agreement in the Chamber. A feeling of glee overtook Draco and he grabbed onto Harry's hand.

_There's no way he's going to win now! My father nominated Amelia and he was seconded by Augusta Longbottom. We have both the Light and the Dark sides of the Wizengamot in agreement. Both are leaders of the factions. Harry, you clinched it with that alliance! We did it! _ Draco's euphoria made it very hard for Harry to keep a straight face and not give any of his and his mate's delight away. Instead, he squeezed Draco's hand tightly in return.

_It was worth it for this moment, Draco,_ Harry said, looking at the face of Cornelius Fudge as he watched his career collapse before him. He would now forever be known as the Minister who did nothing when Lord Voldemort came to power.

"Please raise your wands if you agree with the motion to make Amelia Bones Minister for Magic!" Professor Dumbledore shouted, raising his wand. The numbers on the tally board suddenly started rising at an impossible rate, and 'aye' after 'aye' rang throughout the Chamber. The people in the public galleries started muttering excitedly among themselves when it became clear that there was no way that Fudge would be able to remain in office now.

"Please raise your wands if you disagree with the motion to make Amelia Bones Minister for Magic!" Professor Dumbledore shouted, lowering his wand. Only a few pitiful strikes appeared on the tally board, and Professor Dumbledore shook his head sadly. Fudge had once been a popular, bright young man with big ideas for the Wizarding World. It upset him that he should come to such a humiliating end.

"Amelia Bones, will you be sworn into your new office?" Professor Dumbledore asked, gesturing for her to move into the middle of the Wizengamot Chamber. With a small smile, Amelia Bones stepped down from her chair and moved down into the middle of the chamber. Flashes from the cameras of the reporters who had had the foresight to come to the Wizengamot that day went off as she knelt on the cushion that appeared on the floor. Fudge, swallowing his pride, followed her down and stood in front of her.

"Do you, Amelia Bones, Head of House Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, accept the position of Minister for Magic, with all the responsibilities that the position demands?" Fudge asked, his voice remarkably steady despite his crushing defeat.

"I do, with all my magic," Amelia Bones answered, phrasing her answer differently to show her commitment to the job. Harry felt a stirring in the Chamber, and his hands tingled.

_Go down there, servant of mine, and uphold her vow in my name._ Harry heard Lady Magic's voice clearly in his mind, and he knew that Draco had heard it as well through their link. Draco nodded and let Harry pass.

"Lord Potter?" Professor Dumbledore asked when Harry started descending the stairs back down into the Chamber. Fudge and Amelia Bones looked at him in surprise. Harry ignored everyone until he stood beside Fudge and Amelia. He then held out his hands for Amelia to take.

"You have sworn upon your magic to uphold the responsibilities of your job. As the servant of Lady Magic, I will hold you to your vow. If you do not fulfill the requirements of being Minister to the best of your ability, with the utter devotion that is required to do the job well, your magic will be forfeit. So I say, so mote shall it be," Harry intoned, and a flash of white magic lit up their joined hands. Amelia's eyes held Harry's for a long moment before she let go of his hands. Harry stepped back and gestured for Fudge to continue with the proceedings.

"With the power once invested in me as Minister for Magic, I now pass on this awesome responsibility to you." The chain of office appeared around Fudge's neck, and he took it off with trembling hands, and placed it around Amelia's neck. As he arranged it carefully, Harry heard him murmur into her ear, "Please to Merlin you do a better job than I did."

"I now present to you your new Minister for Magic!" Fudge proclaimed, to lots of cheering. Amelia bowed to all sides of the Wizengamot Chamber and gestured for silence. Everyone subsided, wondering what she was going to say.

"As my first order of business, I will nominate Kingsley Shacklebolt as the new Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." It was unprecedented to nominate a mere Auror for such a powerful position, especially as she was overlooking Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office. Harry frowned, but said nothing. "The Auror Office will now take on more power and importance under my watch," Amelia announced. "As such, I will keep the very capable Rufus Scrimgeour in this position. I count on him completely to work with me in improving the Auror Office."

With that, Amelia shook hands with Fudge, who bowed to her and left the Wizengamot Chamber without a backwards glance. She looked at Harry for a long moment before bowing to him. Harry swallowed and nodded back. Then, as the Wizengamot rose to give her a standing ovation, Amelia made her way back to where the chair of the Minister for Magic stood. She paused a moment beside it, took a deep breath, and sat down.

Harry knew then that the first changes were finally in motion.

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_A/N:__ I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know. I promise not to keep you waiting too long for any more updates, but if you have anything to say, please review or PM me._


	25. Chapter 25

_A/N: I know that this is rather a short chapter, but I'm organising everything so that I have all I need in place for the next one. Thank you for reading!_

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Twenty-Five

Harry waited until the Wizengamot session was finished before going down the stairs to meet Lucius Malfoy, Amelia Bones, Professor Dumbledore and Augusta Longbottom. They all bowed as Harry approached, and he tried not to show how much that bothered him.

_Why are they bowing?_ He asked Draco, who had stopped just behind his right shoulder.

_Because you're above them. There is literally no station in the entire Wizarding World that is more elevated than yours,_ Draco answered smugly.

"Harry, child –" Professor Dumbledore started speaking first, but Amelia lifted up here hand to stop him. Professor Dumbledore looked disgruntled, but subsided.

"Lord Potter –" she started, but this time it was Draco who lifted up a hand to stop her.

"Harry is no longer Lord Potter – or Lord Black. As soon as the Wizengamot session ended, he rescinded all his titles, as per the commands of Lady Magic, and has given them to me. From now one, you will have to refer to me as Lord Potter, or Lord Black, whichever suits you."

Lucius Malfoy looked like he had swallowed a lemon. His son, in just a few minutes, had become the head of two of the most influential families in the Wizarding World, and the mate of the most important wizard in the Wizarding World. It was a hard pill to swallow, knowing that his son was more powerful than he was.

"Very well. What shall we call you, then?" Madam Longbottom asked bluntly, turning to Harry. "As close as you are to my grandson, we are not on first name terms."

"Just refer to me as Mr. Potter if you feel uncomfortable calling me Harry. I have no views on my name; I am only here to help, after all," Harry said, leaning on the staff he had been gifted earlier. That simple act drew everyone's attention to the staff, which was intricately carved with beautiful Runes and symbols and fairly glowed with magic. Draco saw Professor Dumbledore swallow.

"Shall we retire to my new office?" Amelia asked, breaking the tension-filled silence. "I assume that Cornelius has had enough time to move out. I need help sorting out positions and I need to talk strategy with you. I will have a memo sent to Rufus and Kingsley, asking for their company."

Various nods signified the acquiescence of everyone present, and they left the Chamber.

A flash was all the warning they had once the doors had opened, before an entire legion of reporters started swarming them, yelling questions and demanding answers from Harry. Harry shrunk back, leaning against the solid strength of Draco, but that did not seem to stop the reporters, all of them hungry for the story of the century. There was an angry murmur from Amelia, but even when she let out a blast from her wand, the reporters were not deterred.

_Harry! Use your staff, _Draco ordered, furiously batting away more reporters.

Harry took a deep breath and, despite having no idea how to use a staff, decided to bang it against the ground, figuring that that would have the best effect. Indeed, a huge burst of white light emanated from the bottom of the staff, making the reporters shy away. Harry turned to look at Amelia, who was blinking very quickly. She caught on rapidly, though, and muttered a _Sonorus_.

"If anyone comes any closer, I will not be afraid to use more lethal spells. You will all hear what happened in the Wizengamot session later, when the Minister's Office releases a statement. Now, would everyone please _leave_!" Amelia shouted, and the reporters, still blinking furiously, scattered. Amelia sighed. "Dear Merlin, my first public act as Minister is to banish reporters!"

Draco snorted.

* * *

Once everyone, including Rufus Scrimgeour and Kingsley Shacklebolt, had settled themselves comfortably in the now rather bare Minister's Office, Amelia launched herself with predicted efficiency into her role.

"Now, I want both of you –" she said, pointing at Kingsley and Rufus, "to get on with each other. The reason I didn't give you –" she looked at Rufus, "the job of Head of the DMLE is because you _hate_ administrative work. You are going to recruit as many new Aurors as possible – call in favours if you must – and you're going to train them. We need an army, Rufus. You –" she whirled around and faced Kingsley, who raised an eyebrow, "are going to improve the defences around the Ministry and high-profile locations. I don't care what you do, as long as you do it well. Get a force of ward masters up to Hogwarts and get that school warded. If all goes belly-up, Hogwarts will be our last line of defence. Clear?" she asked both of them, who nodded.

Amelia spun around to face Augusta and Lucius.

"You are both leading politicians on the side of the Dark and the Light. Do what you can to rally people around the Ministry. I want to pass laws that will increase protection and allow the Aurors and Hit Wizards more space when they face Death Eaters. I want to bring the giants and the werewolves onto our side. It may be too late. Lucius, I know that now your son has been publicly identified as a Veela and his mate as Harry Potter, your influence will have decreased significantly. Do what you can. Augusta and Lucius, I want you to work closely with the newly minted Lord Potter and Lord Black. Both of those titles hold a lot of sway on both the Light and the Dark sides of the Wizengamot. I don't care what you do, so long as you come up with a coherent plan that looks good and will work. We'll meet every Sunday to go over what you've decided."

Amelia then looked at Harry and Professor Dumbledore. After a few moments under her gaze, Harry twitched.

"Mr. Potter, I must say you've surprised us once more." Amelia chuckled to herself. "Lady Magic has indeed put you under strict parameters. But we can deal with that." She turned to look at Draco. "He's your mate –" she smiled at the surprised look on Draco's face. "Look, Lord Black, I know a fair amount about Veela, and I know that Mr. Potter's your mate. Anyway, Mr. Potter, it's vital that we start using you to the best of your ability. You're forbidden from politics and the press, but you can always discuss things with your mate. Albus, I want you and Professor Vector to work out a schedule to get Mr. Potter up to speed with Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Spell weaving is an ancient and noble art and one which is extremely powerful. Ollivander also has a good grasp of Ancient Runes and can help you decipher your staff if you wish. Once you have succeeded learning the rudiments of Runes and Arithmancy, I'm going to use you in the war effort, if Lady Magic doesn't mind."

Amelia paused and looked around the room. Lucius met her gaze with an indecipherable one of his own, and nodded briefly in her direction.

"We are at war, my friends, and I'm not fool enough to hide under my desk and pretend that we're not. We will do what we can to fight Lord Voldemort." She noticed how various people in the room shivered at the name, and slammed her hand on the desk. "Don't be idiots! If we can't name our enemy, how are we going to fight him?" she asked.

Harry decided that now would probably be the right moment to announce the Hogwarts war effort.

"Minister?" he asked. He felt an angry pressure in the back of his mind and winced.

_You are higher than these people; do not defer to them,_ Lady Magic spoke into his mind, before receding.

"My apologies," Harry mumbled. Draco shot him a concerned glance which promised a lot of talking in the future. "Amelia?"

Amelia nodded and gestured for him to speak.

"We have reinstated the DA at Hogwarts. It's a group of students that we're training to fight. They have quite good ideas which could potentially be developed into the Auror Corps?" Harry asked, turning to look at Rufus, who tilted his head to the side, in question. "If you come up to Hogwarts with your ward masters, we will demonstrate to you what our war effort looks like. In addition, we have discovered two heirs of the Founders, which could help you when setting up stronger wards around Hogwarts."

"Indeed," Amelia said thoughtfully. "I never thought I'd see an Heir of the Founder in my lifetime, but I suppose that anything can happen, seeing as I'm faced with the servant of Lady Magic." Amelia chuckled again and shook her head. "Who might these Heirs be?"

"Myself and Neville Longbottom," Harry answered, looking at Augusta, who gave a brief smile, signalling that she was already aware that her grandson was an Heir of a Founder. Harry pulled up his sleeve to show the small crest of Gryffindor. Everyone bent forwards to look at it.

"Have you discovered what you can do, as an Heir?" Rufus asked.

"There's a lot yet to discover, but we have realised that we can, to a certain extent, manipulate Hogwarts. She will change depending on where we want to go, and if we want to avoid any trick staircases, she will ensure that that happens. It's difficult, though, because we don't have many guidelines."

Professor Dumbledore, who had remained surprisingly silent, stroked his beard and joined the conversation.

"I wish you had told me this sooner, Harry, because I have an extensive library inherited from the Founders. Once you and I have scheduled lessons together, we can devote some time to finding out about what you can do with your inheritance. Mr. Longbottom will, of course, be very welcome to join us," Professor Dumbledore said, smiling genially at Augusta.

"Right then. We have the rudiments of a plan sorted. Please get to work as quickly as possible; we have a significant delay in comparison to Lord Voldemort." Amelia nodded at everyone and waved her hands to dismiss them.

Exhausted, Harry rose shakily to his feet, as the events of the day finally caught up with him.

_Draco?_ he asked, and he felt his mate's hand on the small of his back, supporting him as they left the office.

_It's okay, Harry. I'm here. Relax, I'll ensure that we get to Hogwarts safely_.

With that, Harry let his eyes drift close and he collapsed into Draco's arms. Before the welcoming darkness of sleep overcame him, he heard Draco murmur a Weightless Charm and pick him up, cradling him close to his chest.

Harry fell asleep listening to the steady, calm beats of his mate's heart, and that, more than anything, centred his racing, worried thoughts.

* * *

_A/N:__ Perfect! So everything's in motion now. Please let me know if there's anything in particular you would like to see happen soon, or whether it's going too fast or too slow, whether I'm lacking description or not, or whether the threads of my story are coming together. I'm open to any constructive criticism and any happy reviews telling me you're still out there! Thank you to all the favourites and follows that I get, all those silent readers. I hope that you keep enjoying my fic!_


	26. Chapter 26

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Twenty-Six

Harry peeled open his eyes and shut them quickly again when the light trickled in from the curtains. He rolled over in the bed and sighed when he found that he was unable to go to sleep again. Sitting up, he crossed his legs underneath the heavy blanket and stared ahead, looking long and hard at the door in front of him.

What had happened? Harry had yet to fully absorb the extent of the changes in his life, and as his eyes accustomed themselves to the murky room, his thoughts sorted themselves out too.

He held the highest station in the Wizarding World, and one which had not been held for a very long time. However, with this honour it seemed like he was unable to participate in any form of politics; this rankled more than it should have. It was not that he did not trust Draco with his father's House and his godfather's House – he did – it was just that he had to hand over the reigns to those two Houses which meant the world to him, as they were the last link he had to his parents and his godfather. Harry rubbed his hand along his face. He had also been told what he had to do with his life, and losing that independence really shook him. Harry sighed again and leant back against the fluffy pillows behind him.

Lady Magic had made clear that he was subject to her every whim. Had it been worth it, summoning that alliance once more and lose everything that he had had control over, even down to what he wore? It was a fine line to walk, wondering if he should not have given in, and one that he did not particularly want to walk. He had to look on the bright side of things; after all, falling into darkness was never a good option.

Harry twisted around as much as he was able to and he looked at the beautiful tattoo imprinted on his back. It seemed like strands of white ivy had snaked down his back, and it moved with his every movement. Harry looked again at the dragon on his wrist and the Gryffindor crest on the other. All these marks in some way made him who he was, and to gain each one he had had to make a choice. And was that choice not what he hankered for most of all in his life? Being a servant to Lady Magic could not be such a bad thing – after all, she had given him the gift of his mate. Harry stroked the dragon on his wrist, and he felt Draco stir in the back of his mind.

_Harry?_ His mate asked, and Harry sent back a feeling of calmness and peace. After a long moment, his door opened and Draco, wrapped tightly in a warm dressing gown, padded in.

"Harry, you're awake," Draco said in relief, making his way to Harry's bed. "You slept for a very long time."

"I suppose that my body was adjusting to all the changes that have been wrought onto it," Harry replied wryly, moving across the bed to make space for Draco. Draco shed his dressing gown and shuffled across the bed until he was lying against the pillows next to Harry. His hand sought Harry's under the blanket and once he had found it he held onto it tightly. "Did you change me?" he asked, referring to the fact that he was wearing only a pair of black pyjama trousers.

"Yes," Draco whispered, almost shyly. "I refused to let anyone else do so. We also needed your dress robes so that we could make more robes for you that fitted the requirements that you'd been given. That's also why we're back at Malfoy Manor. We needed a tailor to look through your clothes."

"What time is it?" Harry asked, looking around.

"Late afternoon. I told Mother what I thought you'd want and she will have made amendments to those requirements and also added some extra clothes to the list. She's been working all morning."

"She needn't have bothered," Harry murmured, embarrassed.

"Rubbish, Harry. It's important that you dress well now."

"All these changes, Draco." Harry closed his eyes and leant his head against Draco's shoulder. Draco kissed the top of Harry's head. "They scare me."

"Oh Harry," Draco breathed, and he moved so that he was straddling Harry's hips. His hands rose to Harry's face and his thumbs rubbed his cheeks ever so gently. "I don't know what to say."

"You're not…you're not going to _leave_ or anything, are you? I've just shoved a whole lot of responsibility onto your shoulders _and_ the scrutiny I'll be under is unbelievable. I'll be so stressed I won't know what to do with myself –"

"Stop there, _mon amour_." Draco's hands never stopped their stroking of Harry's face, and his eyes stared at him with deadly seriousness. "If I was only your mate for the honour of it, I would not be here now. I _know_ how much stress you're going to be under, and I will be here at the end of the day to wrap you in my wings and make sure that you're eating and sleeping enough. I will never make a decision for the Houses of Black and Potter without your express consent first. Participating in politics is vastly different from expressing views about politics. _Mon amour_, I am your mate and I am here for better or for worse. Never shut yourself off from me simply because you're scared I'm going to leave you. _I will never leave you_."

Harry let out a long, steady breath and bowed his head. Draco kissed his forehead and let his lips linger there before he pulled away and wrapped Harry in his arms. After a moment, his wings burst out from his back and joined his arms around Harry. In the darkness of Draco's wings, Harry felt his worries melt away and the invisible tension that had been weighing on him seeped out, leaving him feeling lighter.

"I wasn't aware that I was so worried."

"Let me help you then, Harry. Let me carry some of that weight. Merlin knows that it's only going to get heavier."

Harry let out a rather unnerved chuckled, and Draco joined him a few seconds later.

* * *

The very first hurdle that Harry had to overcome was the matter of his clothes for the day. Draco gave him a top to put on, and they both made their way to the Receiving Room of Malfoy Manor, which seemed to have been turned into a massive dressing room. A multitude of different shades of white and black were spread across the chairs, and a rather harried looking tailor and some assistants were hanging up some robes, adding to an already rather large collection of them. Harry did not want to think of the cost of those robes.

"Harry!" Narcissa Malfoy cried out as soon as she saw him. Harry watched with growing dread as she walked over to him and Draco with a determined look on her face.

_I can't escape this, can I?_ Harry asked Draco, who smirked and shook his head smugly. It would be a lovely experience to watch someone else be subjected to his mother's dressing fanaticism.

Narcissa led Harry over to the tailor, who brightened when he saw his subject. He snapped his fingers and his tape measures immediately rushed over to him and started encircling Harry to the point where Harry felt dizzy. As the quill following the tape measures around started writing things down, the clothes that were hung up started adjusting themselves accordingly. Harry was astonished when, after a moment of concentration, he could see the strands of magic, bronze magic, linking the quill, the tape measures, the clothes and the tailor's wand together. He projected the image into Draco's mind and heard him gasp.

_Dear Merlin, Harry, that's beautiful. I didn't know you could do that! _Draco exclaimed, ignoring his mother's curious look. Draco approached Harry tentatively, and hovered just beyond the reach of the tape measures. Harry continued projecting into Draco's mind, and the Veela's eyes kept moving between the tape measures, the clothes, the tailor's wand and the quill. Harry was just as fascinated as Draco was, and then he wondered what would happen if he tried to tamper with the bronze strands of magic.

_Wait!_ Draco almost yelled into his mind, twitching slightly behind Harry. _Wait until the tailor's done; we can practice this somewhere else. You don't want Mother on the warpath because you messed up the tailor's job._

Harry swallowed nervously again, and glanced over at Narcissa, who was examining the black, white and silver robes and talking to the assistants.

Narcissa then brought over a long black robe with bell sleeves trimmed with silver and a collar trimmed with silver. She handed it to Harry, and all of the tape measures stopped around him. He held the rich, heavy velvet in his hands and almost gasped at the _wealth_ that this robe represented.

"Dear Merlin," Harry breathed, rubbing his hands along the robe. "They're beautiful."

Narcissa and the tailor smiled, both looking very self-satisfied.

"Try them on, then!" the tailor squeaked, gesturing for Harry to go behind the partition that had been set up in a corner of the Receiving Room.

While Harry was changing, Draco started up a running commentary in his head to his mate about the other clothes hanging up.

_There are various formal robes here, and some casual winter robes like the ones you're putting on. There are also some more Muggle clothes here, suits and things, _Draco said, running his hand along the clothes. His mother had done an excellent job.

Timidly, Harry made his way around the partition, feeling the robes move with him. The robes he was wearing were fitted exactly to him, and he could feel it with every movement he made. They were comfortable as well as being warm, and Harry had never felt more handsome in simple robes before.

As soon as Draco caught sight of his mate, his commentary went silent. He walked over to Harry and ran his hand along his mate's sleeves, and then looked into his eyes. Harry's green eyes were sparkling; he could tell that he was having a rather powerful effect on Draco. Draco gave Harry a half-hearted glare; too busy looking at the robes that Harry was wearing. The black had tinges of green, but not enough that they did not fit in with the requirements that Lady Magic had demanded. The silver trimmings added an edge of elegance to the simple casual robes.

"They're perfect," Harry said, looking around Draco to the tailor and Narcissa. "If the rest of the clothes are like this, then I love them." When Narcissa moved to pay, Harry stepped forwards, his mouth open. Draco stopped him.

_Harry, let her pay. It's the least she can do for you, after bringing up the Malfoy name as much as you did yesterday. And you're my mate. _

Harry snorted, but relaxed.

"Where's my staff?" he asked, looking around. "I remember leaving it lying around or something."

"It disappeared when you fell asleep, Harry," Draco answered. He made a gesture to Narcissa, who gave her permission to Draco's unspoken question, and pulled Harry out of the Receiving Room so that they could go and eat some food. "I assume that if you call for it, it will appear."

Harry nodded. He had already assumed that when Draco told him that the staff had disappeared.

"There are a few things that we need to organise, Draco," Harry said, as they walked down the grand stairs into the smaller, more comfortable dining room. "I need to find some tutors for Runes and Arithmancy, and we need to draw up a plan, a coherent one which will help us find Voldemort and finally rid ourselves of him. I'd also like to pay the spirit of Malfoy Manor a visit."

"Why?" Draco asked, pulling out a chair for Harry. As Harry sat down, some food appeared on the table and after piling his plate high and eating a few mouthfuls of his toast, Harry answered.

"Because if anyone's going to know how being the servant of Lady Magic has affected my mind, he will. It's vitally important that I understand how much Lady Magic has tampered with my mind so that she can speak into my mind directly. You could hear her, couldn't you?" Harry asked. Draco nodded, and sipped at some of his coffee. "Well I don't want her to be able to listen in on our conversations, or be able to see our moments together." Draco growled at the thought, and Harry smirked triumphantly at him. "Since Malfoy Manor looked into my mind before, I want him to do it again. I also want him to teach me how to use that staff. No one's used a staff since the times of Merlin, I don't think."

Draco sighed and sank down in his chair. He ran a hand through his hair, and thought about all the reasons why in Merlin's name Lord Voldemort had to have this unnatural interest in his mate. All he wanted to do was to kill Lord Voldemort with his bare hands for causing his mate this pain. Draco gave Harry a tired smile, sending some supportive feelings down their bond. Harry tilted his head to the side.

"We're in for a nice, interesting few days, then," Draco clarified, cradling his mug of coffee as if it was protection, against his chest.

Harry continued eating his food, a smile skirting around the edges of his lips.

* * *

_A/N:__ Okay, I know that stuff didn't really happen here, but I needed a pause for Harry, for him to gather his thoughts. Things are going to pick up soon, as Harry hinted, so please keep reading._


	27. Chapter 27

_Disclaimer:__ None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

**Title:** Always

**Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Their first order of business was to visit the spirit of Malfoy Manor, and Draco was very reluctant to bring Harry up to the spirit once more, considering what had occurred the last time they had paid a visit to the fateful room. However, after much cajoling from Harry – involving a few sneaky kisses – Draco led Harry up to the room. They paused a moment before opening the door into the room, staring at each other. Harry's eyes were determined, and Draco rolled his eyes in the face of his mate's determination. Taking a deep breath, Draco twisted the handle of the door and then pushed it open. Harry stepped in first.

The room was the same murky darkness as the first time they had entered it; it appeared empty and devoid of any spirit form. However, Harry closed his eyes and let his newfound awareness of magic encompass the room. He gasped in amazement at what he saw in his mind's eye. Draco's hand came to his shoulder and steadied him, making sure that Harry didn't get lost in his amazement.

The walls of the room were bathed in a brilliant white light, which centred in the middle of the ceiling and then spiralled down into the middle of the room. The pillar of light emitted small wisps of white smoke, which, like a fog, snaked across the floor. Harry let out an astonished laugh, and then, extending his hands, he instinctively called for his staff. It materialised in his hands, and then, suddenly, an impulse came over him. He gripped his staff strongly with both of his hands, and then raised the staff over his head. He heard Draco move uneasily behind him, but Harry ignored his mate, caught in the rush of instinct. Instead, he slowly lowered the staff to the ground, until it rested on the floor and Harry knelt down. Opening his eyes, Harry saw the spirit of Malfoy Manor standing in the middle of the room, where the spiral of white light had just been. The spirit looked terribly disgruntled at being forced to appear, but, as Harry realised, even something as powerful as the Manor was subject to the will of a staff that had been gifted by Lady Magic herself.

"That was very strong magic, Mr. Potter," The Manor rasped, stepping forwards. "And that is a very powerful weapon you hold."

"I'm still learning," Harry answered, stepping forwards to meet the Manor. "Can you tell me more about it?" he asked, holding out the staff. The Manor nodded, and Harry let go of his staff. The Manor stretched out his hands and the staff hovered in between them. There was a rustle behind Harry, and a look behind him revealed that Draco had unfurled his wings.

"You have been through much since you last saw me," the Manor observed, while he twirled the hovering staff with his fingers. The staff rotated in the air, and Harry could see the Manor's face scrunched up in concentration, as if what he was reading concerned him greatly.

"Yes," Harry replied without elaborating. The Manor knelt down and started examining the bottom of the staff, his look of intense concentration slowly disappearing into realisation. Harry waited.

"Lady Magic made an odd choice by choosing you to do her bidding here," the Manor said conversationally, breaking the silence. Draco moved to stand beside Harry, and spread his wings so that they extended behind Harry, providing a strong shield.

"What do you mean by that?" Draco asked the Manor. With a groan, the spirit stood up and looked at both Harry and Draco very seriously.

"I know what you did in the Wizengamot, and this staff only confirms what I could already surmise from your minds. What House Merlin made you do – that choice – could have been avoided. If I had been called forth, young Master Malfoy, I would have prevented him from doing such a drastic thing." The Manor's eyes fixed themselves onto Harry. "Sadly, the Malfoy Family is not that powerful." He chuckled mirthlessly. "Despite this, it was apparent that Lady Magic wanted you. I don't know for what reason she now interferes with the state of humanity. I will guess that it has something to do with what was in your head, young Mr. Potter," The Manor said, nodding towards Harry's forehead.

"Voldemort's soul?" Harry asked, looking worriedly at Draco. "What has that got to do with anything?"

"Above all, Lady Magic loves all magical beings – and by beings I mean creatures as well as humans. There has been such darkness in the Wizarding World recently. Look at Grindelwald," The Manor looked sad for a long moment, as if remembering past horrors. "However, Grindelwald sought to make himself immortal through the Deathly Hallows – the Elder Wand, the Invisibility Cloak and the Resurrection Stone – not through an act of magic so dark that it would split the very essence of his being, as Lord Voldemort has done. Grindelwald never tried to pretend that he was something he wasn't, and I truly believe that at his heart, Grindelwald was capable of love."

"What has _love_ got to do with Voldemort?" Harry asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Are you aware that Voldemort was created from a love potion?" Draco and Harry glanced at each other. Harry nodded, remembering the words of Voldemort's soul. Draco shook his head, and Malfoy Manor turned to Draco to explain. "Voldemort's father was under the influence of a love potion when his mother became pregnant with him. As such, Voldemort is incapable of love; the very act that conceived him was at its heart a lie, and such a lie is an abomination of what Lady Magic ever intended to happen. Don't scoff at the power of love, young Master Malfoy," the Manor warned. "You of all people should be aware of the power that loving young Mr. Potter affords you." Harry blushed brilliantly. "As a Veela, love is integral to your very being, which is why you are one of Lady Magic's favoured creations."

"Are you saying that because one of Lady Magic's creations – the wizard in Voldemort – has violated what she sees as one of the most powerful magicks in the world – love – then he has to be destroyed?" Draco asked, sidling close to Harry and wrapping an arm around his mate's shoulders. Harry leant into the embrace instinctively.

"No, not destroyed. Never destroyed. That's why she chose you, Mr. Potter. At your heart –" at this, the Manor strode forward and placed his index finger on Harry's heart. "At the very heart of your being is this incredible capability to love and forgive, and I have seen it. Your _family_, if they can be _called_ a family, treated you abominably in your childhood, but yet, and here lies the integral difference between you and Lord Voldemort, yet you have been kind."

"My parents loved each other!" Harry exclaimed. "That's the difference between him and me. It's nothing to do with our childhoods." Draco was looking askance at Harry, and Harry could feel a thread of irritation seeping through their bond. Harry knew that a talk was coming up.

"Oh Mr. Potter, it has everything to do with your childhoods. You're both as bruised and battered as each other, though I would argue that your childhood was worse because you were never the bully, only the bullied, and worse, the bullies were your family, and Voldemort's weren't." the Manor looked long and hard at the staff hovering in the air. "You both made a choice, and though Lord Voldemort cannot love, he could be kind. And so Lady Magic ordered House Merlin to send you to her. Though your choice was biased – life or death – it was a choice to go to her. She has seen the parallels between you and Lord Voldemort, and wants you to help him. If helping Lord Voldemort requires you to kill him, then you helped him."

"That's why Voldemort's soul asked me to ask Voldemort for remorse. He said that Voldemort had been good once, but years of injustice took their toll," Harry murmured in realisation, remembering the sadness that had poured off the grey soul.

"You must never excuse Voldemort from the evil he caused, simply because of a hard childhood," Draco said, shaking his head. He looked hard at the Manor. "Are you saying that because of the choices that Harry and the Dark Lord have made in their lifetimes, Lady Magic chose Harry to represent her, so that when the time finally came, Harry, as the channel of her will, will be able to offer Voldemort the remorse that his soul said he needed?"

"Yes, that is in essence what I am saying," the Manor said, nodding. "There are many differences, of course, between your mate's and Voldemort's upbringing. I'm not saying that your mate would have _become_ Lord Voldemort. I am saying that Mr. Potter here is the closest that Lady Magic has managed to come to someone who could offer _sincere_ remorse to Voldemort, and then understand if he refused it." The Manor closed his eyes. "Voldemort is in such great pain. Only such pain can turn into such evil." The Manor turend to look at the staff. "And this staff embodies that mission of yours, boy. It's mainly carved with runes of protection. You're here to protect people from ever becoming as twisted as Voldemort ever again. Don't forget that."

Harry took a deep breath, his head reeling with all the revelations that had just been given to him. It was almost too much for him to handle just then, and he crumpled to the floor and watched his staff hovering inches above the floor. Draco knelt down beside him, and his wings lay heavy on Harry's back, offering him the anchor that he desperately needed just then. He felt as if there was a raging storm in his mind, and only that heavy weight of Draco's wing stabilised him. After taking some very deep, calming breaths, Harry felt a sort of forced calm come over him, and knew that Draco was projecting his own feelings of calm onto Harry. Slowly, Harry absorbed Draco's feelings of calmness and was finally able to look at the Manor again.

"And Lady Magic, is she able to access my thoughts? She can speak into my mind."

"Lady Magic watches from above, boy," the Manor answered. "She sees everything that's out there, and will only speak to you when you need guidance or she sees that something needs to happen in a particular way. Trust yourself, though. You were chosen for a reason, boy." The Manor knelt down in front of Harry and looked at him. "You are strong, and stronger than you realise. Don't worry."

Harry found some form of courage in the fathomless eyes of the spirit of Malfoy Manor. There was something in the wisdom that Harry saw there, and the way he had spoken of Lord Voldemort reminded Harry that the Manor had seen inside Voldemort's mind. Harry nodded and let Draco pull him to his feet.

"Thank you," Harry whispered, bowing his head to the Manor.

"Child, the pleasure was all mine, I do assure you," the Manor answered, bowing at the waist and slowly fading away. Harry plucked the staff from the air and left the room clutching Draco's arm. Neither boy looked back.

* * *

_A/N:__ What do you think of all of that? I hope it made sense, do tell me if it didn't. Or ask any questions if you need clarification._


End file.
